I Melt With You
by Feeling Sinister
Summary: An attempt at romance. When friends force an overly cynical Kari and a noncommittal Matt together, they may have hit on to something more than they expected.
1. Great Romances Of The Twentieth Century

I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I'm writing… gasp… a romance. This is the first time I've ever attempted anything like this, so um, don't hate me.

As for Two Days and the end of that… um… it may be a while. Restricted computer access, and the fact that I haven't even written it yet. -sweat drop-

But anyways, the pairings in this will become evident. And it's annoying when people like a story just for its pairing. So, uh, I hope you like it.

I don't own Digimon and the title, of course, is from a song by Modern English.

**I Melt With** _You_

"Love is weird," fifteen-year-old Kari Yagami breathed, watching her friend Yolei buzzing around her older brother's door like a fly on potato salad.

Sighing, Yolei leaned against the door, "He's playing his guitar in there. I can hear it. Should I talk to him? What should I say? Ohhh, Kari, isn't he dreamy?"

Kari quirked an eyebrow, "Would it be illegal if I answered that?"

Ignoring Kari, Yolei took a deep breath and rapped her knuckles sharply on Tai's door. Abruptly, the flow of music drifting out from under the door came to a stop. Kari watched from her perch on the bathroom counter as the tall, thin form of her eighteen-year-old brother appeared in his doorway. His brown eyes focused first on Kari across the hall and then snapped to her eager lavender-haired figure in front of him. His thin lips relaxed into a smile, "Hey, Yolei."

"Hi," she managed, her voice faltering "I just came to see, you know, what you were up to…"

_When exactly did Yolei 'fall in love' with Tai?_ She thought to herself, watching her friend twirl her hair flirtatiously around her finger as Tai told her about all the crazy shenanigans he and Matt got into at their last gig. _Was he actually flirting with her? Ewww…_

Mildly disgusted, hopped off the counter and stepped into the hall, "Well, since you two are so busy, I'll be in my room," she spat, hoping Yolei would take the hint.

"Alright," Yolei said smiling, "Tai was just gonna play their new song for me. I'll be there in a minute." And her also smiling brother led her into his room.

Kari rolled her eyes as she stormed down the corridor into her own bedroom. She slammed the door defiantly, instantaneously flopping down onto her single bed. "Yolei and… Tai? They've got absolutely nothing in common! I mean… what can they even talk about?" Realizing no one was there to listen to her complaints, she picked up the cordless phone and dialed Davis's number. He was always more than willing to listen to one of Kari's angry rants. No answer. She smacked herself on the forehead, realizing Davis was spending the week in Hiroshima with his grandparents.

Disappointed, she hung up the phone and dialed TK's number. On the third ring, he answered, "Hello?"

"Hey there," she said, relieved.

There was a pause, "Kari? Hey, I'm kinda busy…"

She frowned, "Doing what? I mean, don't you have a _minute_? For _meeee_?"

Voices in the background; TK was talking to someone else. Finally the receiver clicked and he came on again, "Uh, sorry… I would, but Sora's over and we're watching a movie," he laughed, "And she won't pause it or _ever let me leave the **room**_!." There was a shriek in the background as TK threw something at her. More laughter. "So, uh…" Kari slammed down the phone.

Another friend lost to love. All Yolei ever did was moon over Tai; after a bad break-up with Matt, Sora took comfort in his younger brother and thus stole him away as well; even Ken was always doing mushy "couple stuff" with Izzy. Kari moaned in agony, rolling over on her stomach and covering her face with a pillow.

She was still in this position when Yolei found her ten minutes later. "Kari? Kari, what are you doing?" Without a reply, Kari held up her right arm and extended her middle finger. "God, Kari, what is your problem? Why are you so damn weird?"

When Kari didn't answer again, Yolei set to removing the pillow from her friend's head. The two struggled for a minute, Kari kicking and flailing and Yolei bracing herself against Kari's bedpost and pulling with all her might. Finally, the bespectacled girl wrestled the pillow away from her friend and left her sitting crossly on the bedroom floor. As they sat and looked at each other, both girls began to giggle. Then this broke way to all-out laughter. They just sat, laughing until their sides ached.

Once this died out, Kari finally spoke, "What is up with you and my brother?"

"Well," Yolei started, getting excited, "Tai… well, he asked me out!"

Kari flinched, "What?"

"For tomorrow night! He told me to come to their show and then we'd go out to pizza afterwards; just the two of us! Can you believe that?"

"No…" she said slowly.

Noticing the distress in her friend's voice, Yolei rubbed Kari on the shoulder, "We need to get you a date for tomorrow, too."

"I can do that fine myself. I just don't want to." Kari said defiantly.

Ignoring her, Yolei went on, "Well, there's always Davis. He's like, head over heels for you, but he's in…" she paused, thinking.

"Hiroshima." Kari finished her sentence.

"Right. Hmm… Izzy'll be there. But, um, he's attached. So that leaves Matt. And, come on, Kari, you know he's cute…" Barely listening, Kari shrugged. "Oooh, this'll be so fun! I'll go talk to Tai and tell him to set you guys up for tomorrow!" Yolei hopped gleefully off the bed.

"No! Yolei, please. Not Matt," Kari finally interjected.

Yolei looked at her, cocking her head to the side, "Why not?"

Kari's mind raced to find an excuse. Things had always been awkward for her around Matt; who was a combination between both of the things you were supposed to love as a girl; your older brother's best friend and your best friend's older brother. When she was about twelve, she had developed a little crush on him, which over the years had developed into a big crush. But it had all ended at Izzy's party last year, when he had kissed her.

Normally, this would be a good thing. Except he didn't talk to her for a week afterwards, and when he did, it was to tell her he was going out with Sora. She had never told anyone; not even TK, and she assumed he'd never told anyone either, since even Tai, his best friend in the world, had never brought it up.

"Umm," she thought out loud, "Incompatible zodiac signs?"

"Ha. Ha." Yolei said bitterly, stepping into the hallway, "I'll see _you_ tomorrow night. And dress up."

Kari leaned crestfallenly against her bed, "_What am I gonna do now_?"

Ugh. This is weird. But usually I hate my stuff until I get further into it. So please leave me nice reviews and encourage me because I have a severe inferiority complex.

So maybe I don't. But do it anyway.


	2. Certain Tragedy

Another chapter. God, it's so sappy, I think I'm gonna burst. Anyways, the chapter gimmick for this story is for a sappy song title as the name of each. The name of this one, Certain Tragedy, is a song by Saves The Day. I don't own it. If I did, I would give it back to them rather than attempt to croak my way through.

I don't own Digimon either.

And I don't know if I need to disclaim this, but I got the idea for the band's name, _Squalor_, from the short story by J.D. Salinger, For Esmé With Love And Squalor. Because it's a cool word. And the title still belongs to Modern English. God, I'm such a plagiarist.

**I Melt With **_You_

Looking around at all the smiling and dancing teenagers, Kari felt terribly out of place. It wasn't that she'd never been to one of her brother's concerts before, but why, oh why, did she listen when Yolei told her to dress up?

Yolei giggled as they sat at a table Tai had reserved in the club their band was playing. She, of course, had dressed in a new pair of pre-ripped jeans and a vintage t-shirt. "I can't believe you listened when I told you that! I was only joking…"

From across the table, Kari glared at her, "Thanks a lot." Kari, on the other hand, had heeded her friend's advice and worn a white tank top and a tiny black ruffled miniskirt, her light brown hair twisted into a semi-formal updo.

"Well," Yolei stammered, feeling a little guilty, "At least you look nice." This was met with another fierce stare. "Relax, Kar, we're gonna have a blast."

Before she could do any relaxing, the lights in the club dimmed. The two girls immediately focused their attention on the modest stage a few feet away. As the band took their places, a breathless Sora sank into the seat next to Kari. "Hey guys. Sorry I was a little late, I was just wishing TK luck backstage…" she giggled.

"It's alright," Yolei said, giving Kari a kick under the table, signifying she should say something.

"Hi Sora," Kari said finally, unaware Sora was even meeting them there.

Sora gave her a quizzical look, "You look cute; what's the occasion?"

At this, Kari went red, "Uh…"

"She has a date," Yolei answered for her, "With Matt."

Sora's eyebrows shot up, "Matt?"

"Uh, yeah," Kari shrugged.

Any response Sora might have had was cut short by the opening chords of the first song by Tai and Matt's band, Squalor. They were pretty green when it came to performing, as they hadn't been together all that long, but Kari pretty much had to like them: any given member would kick her ass if she did otherwise. The band had formed after Matt got sick of his potsmoking bandmates and left the band. Missing the whole music thing, he had taught his younger brother to play bass. Tai had an old guitar his uncle had given him on his eleventh birthday, and Izzy played percussion in the school marching band.

It took a lot of time and a hell of lot of painstaking practice before the band became good by anyone's standards, but eventually, after Matt's "cred" from being in the Teenage Wolves, the band began to book gigs. Only recently had anything other than open mic nights begun to book them, but Squalor was slowly gaining popularity.

The only one with any real stage experience was Matt, who strode purposefully out onto center stage, guitar dangling from its strap. The others wandered sheepishly to their positions, keeping their eyes fixed on Matt, "How's everyone doin' tonight?" He greeted the crowd. A cheer resounded in response. "This first one's called 'Certain Tragedy'," he said, adjusting the microphone stand. Other bands may have had time to joke around with the audience, but Squalor was only playing a twenty-minute set and wanted to get in all the music they could.

"_And now I finally see that the further we go_," Matt began, _a cappella_. At this, Izzy kicked in on the drums.

"_We're only treading ground that we already know_," he continued, beginning to strum his guitar. The rest of the band began playing along with them; not being especially great, but being good enough to get a few couples the miniscule dance floor in front of the stage.

"_/I could write you a song, send you a note, or empty out your trash/  
/and buy a bucket full of diamonds but/  
/even the most beautiful of all roses must someday crumble to dust/   
/and fade away/  
/It's a certain tragedy/_

_/So it's on into the lonely nights and all the rest of it/  
/The empty space between me and the sunken walls/   
/and feeling someone's hand around my neck/  
/choking away the life that I have left/_

_/And I can finally see that the further I go I'm only treading ground/  
/that I don't wanna know/  
/I'll probably hang upside-down from wooden rafters in my home/   
/and look at old photos of you/_

_/So it's on into the lonely nights and all the rest of it/  
/The empty space between me and the sunken walls/   
/and feeling someone's hand around my neck/  
/choking away the life that I have left/_

_/I miss the warmth of the summer when we were on our own, /  
/But now it's winter and my bones are cold/_

_/And now I finally see that the further we go we're only treading ground/  
/That we already know/  
/I could write you a song, send you a note, or empty out your trash/  
/And buy a bucket full of diamonds but/  
/Even the most beautiful of all roses must someday crumble to dust/   
/And fade away/_

_/It's a certain tragedy/_"

It was a high energy song and by the end, the few couples were not alone on the dance floor; even Yolei and Sora had joined them. Kari watched as each girl blew a kiss to their respective "man". For an instant, she noticed Matt's eyes fall on her. She looked away, pretending not to notice.

_Certain Tragedy? _Kari thought to herself, _Seems a fitting phrase to describe my looming engagement._

The rest of the gig went similarly, Yolei and Sora spending most of their time out on the dance floor and Kari sitting coldly in her chair, constantly readjusting her skirt. When the band finished their last song, they returned, amidst a fit of giggles to the table. "And then he said 'Well, you'll have to get a drink with me after the gig tomorrow night, then'! Can you believe it?" Yolei gushed, telling Sora the story of Tai asking her out for the five-hundredth time.

"That's pretty cool," Sora said politely, despite the fact that she was getting sick of the tale. "Hey, Kari, you'd better not be having too much fun…"

"What?" Kari said, snapping to attention, "Oh, yeah. This is a real blast."

As Sora was about to chime in and try and cheer Kari up, TK slid onto the seat next to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. On the other side of the table, Tai sat next to Yolei, who abruptly began talking at him. Matt looked around, confused, and sat in the open seat next to Tai. "Matt," Yolei whispered, tearing herself away from the monologue she was spouting at Tai. She then began making exaggerated hand gestures pointing towards Kari, sitting alone across from her.

Slowly, he rose and pulled up a chair next to Kari. He adjusted his weight about a thousand times before finally sitting still. "Hey," he said in a voice lower than his original one.

"Hi."

He glanced nervously around at his bandmates; TK and Sora were holding hands and looked to be enthralled in a serious conversation, across the table, Yolei leaned her head affectionately on Tai's shoulder, still blabbering on, and at a separate table, Izzy and Ken were deep in serious genius conversation. "So, uh, did you enjoy the show?" he said awkwardly turning back to Kari.

"Mmhhm," she nodded.

"Did you dance?"

She shook her head.

"Er… you look nice," he offered.

"Thanks." She replied flatly, shooting him down.

They sat there for a while, Matt watching his friends and their dates; Kari staring somewhere off into space. "Why won't you talk to me?" he said at last.

She shot him a venomous look, "Are you joking?"

"Don't answer a question with a question. Why won't you talk to me?"

Livid, she crossed her arms, "Because of what you did to me."

"What? Kari, that was over a year ago. And it was no big deal anyway. Can't you just put it behind you and pretend like you like me for one night?"

She gritted her teeth, "I did like you. A lot."

He leaned back in his chair, feeling uneasy. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't have time," she whispered, trying to suppress the emotion building in her voice, "You had," she glanced at Sora, "her."

Trying to appear composed, Matt rested his hand on her exposed thigh, "I'm sorry. Really. Like I said, let's just have fun. For tonight."

Despite what her head told her, she restrained herself from brushing his hand off. He was right. They could just have fun tonight. It wasn't like she was in love with him, or he with her. And if he was sorry. Really, truly sorry, she could do it. "Okay," she said with a smile.

"You guys ready to go?" Matt asked, standing up.

Shaking Yolei off his shoulder, Tai stood up also, "Where to?"

"Ooh!" Sora called out, "How about we go cosmic bowling?"

"Bowling?" TK wrinkled his nose, "You're such a loser…" He laughed as she hit him playfully on the arm with her handbag.

Kari clambered out of her chair, sappy smile still on her face, "Actually, bowling sounds fun to me."

She looked down nervously as Matt laced his fingers with hers, "Alright, then. Let's go."

Still think this is sappy and lame. Probably need to cut back on Princess Bride-watching.

Review please! 


	3. Last Chance To Lose Your Keys

Purchased Princess Bride. Dammit.

Disclaimers:

Characters in this story are not mine; title was stolen from Modern English, and chapter names have been stolen from Taking Back Sunday, Saves The Day, and Brand New, in that order. Also, Squalor was kinda taken from Salinger.

I know it seems like I'm extreme with this, but my English teacher is a total psycho about citing everything you use that isn't yours. You're lucky I'm not parenthetically documenting it.

****

Update: Thanks to **Lil-Riter **for pointing out the little TK/Izzy error I made in this chapter. Somehow that must have slipped by me during editing. I need to employ a beta… But anyways,. I have it fixed now. =)

I Melt With _You_

"So, you had fun?" Yolei asked straight away when Kari picked up the phone.

She laughed, "How'd you know I'd pick up?"

"Your parents never answer the phone; and I woulda asked Tai the same question."

Kari smiled, "You two… I never saw it coming."

With a scoff, Yolei transferred the phone to her other ear, "Are you joking? I've liked him, like, forever. And persistence pays off. He asked me out again for Friday night!"

"Mmm," Kari nodded, still finding it odd.

"You and Matt seemed quite happy," Yolei commented, expecting a rise out of Kari, "What'd he say?"

In spite of herself, Kari blushed, "He said he'd call me."

"Did he?"

Kari frowned, "No, not yet."

"But he will..."

"Right."

"You hang up first," TK cooed from his seat on the floor of Izzy's garage, bass draped across his lap. They had been practicing all afternoon and we on a much-needed break.

"No; you do it." Sora replied.

"Come on; you first."

"No way!"

"You first…"

"_You _first…"

Matt looked crossly over at his younger brother, "Should I do it?" he roared. Not wanting trouble, TK quickly put the phone down. "Let's start from the top."

"The top?" Tai groaned, "Come on, I've got soccer…"

"Soccer starts at four. It's two-thirty."

Looking up from tuning his bass, TK broke in, "I agree with Tai; we've been practicing too long. We're doing fine. Just let us go."

Matt kicked his microphone stand in a huff, producing a loud squeal of feedback, "You just wanna get back on the damn phone to spout off some more of that God awful mush to Takenouchi."

"I do not…" TK whined.

Leaning against the wall of Izzy's garage where they practiced, Matt folded his arms coolly, "Yes you do." More tittering from the others. "Shut up, Izzy, you're the same way with Ichijouji. And _you_," he said, whirling around to face an embarrassed Tai, "It's worse for you, because Yolei's _creepy_."

"Hey…" Tai said defensively, "What about you and Kari? You guys seemed pretty cozy Saturday night."

From his place on the wall, Matt shrugged carelessly, "So?"

Tai set down his guitar against the stand, "Then are you guys an item now or what?"

Shocked, Matt's eyes widened, "No way."

"You're blushing," Izzy said slyly, poking his brother in the arm with his drumstick.

"I am not," Matt lied, contrary to the fact that both of his cheeks were a darkening shade of crimson, "I don't want a girlfriend right now. I already tried that thing and you know how that went…" he threw a look at TK.

Izzy laughed coldly, "Actually, we do know how it went. You broke it off because you're afraid of commitment. Admit it."

"Why would I?" Matt spat, scratching the back of his neck nervously, "I just didn't wanna commit to… _that_. No offense, TK." In response, TK rolled his eyes.

"That meaning Sora or my sister?" Tai asked, stepping forward.

Matt shrugged yet again, "Both."

Another angry step towards him, "So you're not calling her?"

"Nope."

"No second date?"

"No."

"You're just gonna leave her wondering what she did wrong?"

"Where is all this coming from, Yagami? One would think this has happened to you before." Matt laughed cruelly, despite the fact that he was obviously cornered.

Tai leaned down into the blonde's now-quickly-blanching face, "Listen, _Ishida,_ you'd better give my sister a call. And take her out. And show her a good time." He looked quickly down at Matt, "And, uh, keep your filthy hands off her." He paused, thinking of a good way to punctuate the threat, "Uh… or else."

Matt blinked, a little scared. Tai was considerably more muscular than him and could easily kick his ass any day of the week. What was one more date? He could let her down gently and be rid of the whole thing. "Alright.," he pushed Tai to the side, crossed the garage, and picked his guitar back up, strumming a swift, angry chord, "It's a date."

"You have one new message," Kari's voice mail chorused in the usual robotic tones. She sighed, picturing it to be another update on everything her brother said last night from Yolei or a reminder from her mother that she needed to pick up medication for her father's urinary problems on the way home from cheerleading or something embarrassing like that.

So of course she had almost dropped the phone upon hearing Matt's low voice come out of the speaker. It had been nine days; since they left the bowling alley last Saturday since she'd even seen him. By now she had given up hope and convinced herself it was stupid and she never really liked him anyways. But hearing his voice again made her heart do a somersault. _Down, boy_, she told herself, _It's no big deal_…

"Hey Kari, this is Matt… uh, yeah… I was just kinda wonderin' if you wanted to go out and see a movie tomorrow night. It's Monday today, so uh, Tuesday night, you know. Well call me back or something. I think you have my number, but, uh, if not, then just ask Tai. Later."

She sat up on the bleacher where she had stretched out to spend break on. "Should I call now?" she wondered aloud.

_Nah, that would be too desperate. You don't even wanna go that bad, do you?_

She hesitated.

_Do you?_

"So what? Maybe I do."

_He's just a guy. You don't like him or anything, right?_

"Right." Kari turned to find Suki, head cheerleader and very popular Senior staring at her from four bleachers up, a very bemused expression on her heavily made-up face. "I'm just… eh… talking on the phone." She picked up the phone hastily and waved it back and forth, "I had… uh, my boyfriend on… speakerphone." With an eye roll reserved for underclassmen, Suki turned and continued the vital ritual of redoing her mascara.

Kari gave her pompoms a discouraged kick. Why was she getting so worked up over this? Matt was just a guy. And a jerk at that.

"Maybe I won't go," she told herself. And she meant it this time.

"What're you so worked up about?" Mimi asked, pulling out of the school parking lot.

Kari shrugged, tugging at her skirt, "I'm not worked up."

Mimi looked at her, reading the younger girl like a book, "It's about a boy, isn't it?"

"How do you know this stuff?" Kari raised an eyebrow.

"I just do, trust the master," Mimi squealed, stepping on the accelerator. "So, who's the lucky guy breakin' your heart?"

Deciding there was no use avoiding it, Kari shrunk down in the white leather upholstered seat of Mimi's baby blue convertible, "Matt." She mumbled.

Flying around a tight corner, Mimi laughed like a maniac, "You and a thousand others, girl. What's wrong?"

"We went out the other night. It was fun and all, but it was last Saturday. Then he calls today and wants me to go to a movie with him tomorrow. I don't know if I wanna go because -"

"_OhmiGod_," Mimi screeched, interrupting Kari's angst-ridden soliloquy "I love this song!" And with that, she cranked up the volume, depleting Kari's chances of getting any advice. She sighed, leaning back in the seat to listen to the words.

/I cashed in all my chips tonight and combed my hair till it was just right./  
/Cause I've been thinking about you and me girl, /

/And we got something going on./  
/You told me you can't wait to see me/

/And then you didn't bother to even show up./  
/This whole situation is incredibly typical, /

/I should have seen it all along./

/Should have seen it all along./

/It's girls like you that make me think I'm better/  
/Off at home on a Saturday night with all my doors locked up tight./  
/I won't be thinking about you baby./

/Home on a Saturday night with all my doors locked up tight./  
/I won't be thinking about you baby/

/You call me on the phone, and you don't even want to talk./  
/You're staring at me from across the room then turn your back when I walk up./  
/We got inches away, and I never even got close./

/So leave your lipstick at home./  
/Don't pick up the phone./  
/Don't bother to look in my direction./  
/I should have seen it all along./

/Should have seen it all along/

/It's girls like you that make me/  
/Think I'm better off home on a Saturday night with all my doors locked up tight./  
/I won't be thinking about you, baby./

/Home on a Saturday night with all my doors locked up tight./  
/I won't be thinking about you, baby./

/Forget everything you think you know about me./  
/This isn't highschool/

How uncanny, Kari thought to herself, listening to Mimi belt out the end of the song at the top of her lungs, _Everything I hear nowadays seems to directly relate to something I'm going through. What are the odds?_

"Is Matt there?" Kari asked, her voice faltering.

His dad grunted a response and Kari heard footsteps and loud music, then some yelling and the music quieted. Finally, Matt's voice came on the line, "Hello?"

"Matt? It's Kari."

"Oh," his voice brightened, "Hey."

She cleared her throat, "Listen, about that movie tomorrow…"

"Uh-huh?"

Nervous, she twisted the phone cord around her finger, "I… I… don't think I can make it."

Matt coughed, "What?"

"I can't make it. I'm busy."

He nodded, cradling the phone between his shoulder and chin, "Uh, alright. Maybe some other time." As much as he tried to hide his disappointment, it definitely showed in his voice. Somewhere in the last couple hours, he had convinced himself taking out Tai's sister wouldn't be too bad.

"Maybe." She said simply.

There was an uneasy silence between them, each expecting the other to find something to say. After a few moments, Kari spoke, "Well, I'll let you go then."

"Okay. Bye." The phone clicked as he hung up.

_I made the right choice,_ she told herself, _There was nothing there anyway. I don't want to waste his time. _She crossed to her window and looked out over the street, _Then how come this feels so terrible?_

I haven't quite reached the point in which I like this story yet, but it could come with time. In case you didn't read it, I put the last chapter of the other story I was writing, Two Days, up last night.

I'm feeling unusually quiet tonight, so I won't bore you with lame comments. I know there's not much going on right now, but the plot will pick up more in the later chapters. This is gonna be a shorter story, so there won't be many, but there will be more action. I promise.

J'aime les reviews. J'aime them beaucoup.


	4. She Hates Me

First off, an authors' note, of course:

This chapter, following the pattern set by the others is named after a song. This one is by Puddle Of Mudd. I realize everyone in the world is sick of this song. I am too. So I searched for a long, long time to find something else to title it. No luck. So I was forced to incorporate incredibly annoying song into this chapter and for that, I apologize profusely.

To balance this terrible news, I have some good news. Currently, there is a sequel to Two Days in the works. It was supposed to be called 'Two Weeks' or something. But I didn't wanna make it that long. And ''Nine Days' or "A Week And A Half' just sounded stupid. So for the moment, its working title (read: "Subject To Change") is One Crazy Summer, which, incidentally, I am having right now.

Said story, and I am only doing this because I am awfully sorry about the annoying song, since it will likely combust your eyeballs to even read it again, will follow the characters of Two Days on the summer following TK, Kari, and Davis's Senior year. Minor spoiler: TK gets plane tickets, Davis, Ken gets over Cami, Davis gets poison ivy, and Matt gets more than just a little mixed-up.

That's enough for now. Depending on how hard I get working, it should be out soon.

The song mentioned does not belong to me; I edited it because I like my fics to be PG-13. And also horribly out of character.

I don't own Digimon.

I Melt With _You_

Well, Kari thought, looking around at the busy mall, _at least I made the right choice… _She sat alone on a bench, taking a break from her solo shopping spree to watch all the happy passerby. How convenient that everyone else seemed to have someone. Could she really be the only one here that was alone? _And it's all my fault._

But being alone certainly wasn't her first choice. Yolei and Tai were going out to dinner, TK had a basketball game, which she would have gone to, if not for the fact that Sora would be there cheering him on more loudly than Kari ever would, and Ken was at some computer convention with Izzy. And to top it all off, the entire cheerleading squad had been avoiding her like a disease since Suki caught her talking to herself yesterday afternoon. As she sat there on the bench, pondering her state in life, she couldn't help but wonder if she made the wrong choice with Matt.

She sighed dramatically, rising to her feet and picking up her bags to head to the food court for some dinner. She told her mother she'd be home at nine; which gave her two more hours of tortuous solitude in the mall. Her brown eyes scanned the food stalls as she tried to decide what to eat.

"Kari?" a voice behind her said, causing her to jump about three feet.

She spun around, surprised to find Matt standing behind her, one hand jammed in his pocket, the other holding a large bag from the secondhand music store on the third level of the gigantic mall. "Matt. Hi."

He took a couple steps closer, "You here alone?"

"Yes," she snapped, "And I'd like to keep it that way."

"Whoa," he chuckled, waving his arms back and forth, "Cool it, Kari. What did I do to make you hate me so much?"

Kari looked away nervously, "I… I don't hate you."

His lips curled into a wicked grin, "Then let's go out to pizza."

"Um," her eyes darted around the food court before settling on his face, "Alright."

"…So then Tai says 'I don't know, I thought _you _told her not to!' " Matt finished his story with an exaggerated impression of Kari's brother.

She doubled over in hysterics, "God, he's such a dork sometimes."

Matt chuckled, agreeing as he reached for a third slice of the cheese pizza they were splitting, "You said it. And what's up with him and your little purple-haired friend?"

"Yolei?" Kari sputtered, still laughing, "No _idea_. That's even weirder than…" she stopped abruptly, reaching for her soda.

He placed a hand on her wrist, stopping her, "Weirder than who?"

Embarrassed, she smiled sheepishly, "You and me."

Realizing where his hand was, Matt blushed and pulled it back, "Yeah…" he looked over the half-empty pizza tray, "So, are you done?"

"Yeah," she nodded, wondering when the conversation had turned so uncomfortable; they had been getting along so well before. "Wait a second," she murmured, watching him reach for his wallet, "You don't have to pay. I'll get it."

He took out a couple dollars, "Nah, I'll pay. You don't even have a job yet."

"Yes I do," she protested.

"Babysitting doesn't count," he chided her.

She furrowed her eyebrows, throwing her purse down exaggeratedly, "You're such a chauvinistic pig. What am I even doing here?"

"You were lonely and I'm sexy, so you begged me to take you out, show you a good time, and help you get whatever's jammed up your ass that's making you such a bitch out." He said smugly, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.

"Are you _joking_?" she stood up heatedly, color beginning to rise in her cheeks, "_I'm _the bitch? You didn't call for nine days and then _stalk_ me down and try to pretend everything's okay? What is your _problem?"_

He rolled his eyes, "No, what is _your_ problem, Kari? I freaking _kiss_ you a _year_ ago and you wait around like a sick puppy, thinking we're going to get _married_ or something!"

With a shrill shriek serving as her battle cry, she all but threw her glass of Pepsi at his leering face, covering him in the sticky brown liquid. As everyone in the pizza parlor turned to watch, Kari bent down and kissed him on the cheek, then leaned in by his ear, "Fuck you," she whispered simply before picking up her bags, turning around, and leaving him alone at the table.

/Met a girl, thought she was grand/  
/Fell in love, found out first hand/  
/Went well for a week or two/  
/Then it all came unglued/

'_So, did you take out my sister last night?_' Matt read aloud, as he and Tai sat through another of their history teacher, Mr. Mujina's famous lectures. _'Yes,_' he responded, '_Crazy, psycho bitch._'

On his left, Tai laughed as he read it, '_That bad, huh? What happened?_'

'_Let's just say it involves a collision between her Pepsi and my face.._'

Tai laughed harder, '_She's weird like that. Except for Davis and TK, she never brings any boys home. Maybe she's gay…_'

Naturally, Matt laughed as he read this, but a little part inside him was kind of disappointed he had missed his chance with Kari. It was actually refreshing to be around a girl who didn't fall all over him for no reason. And she was actually _funny_, unlike most of the girls he dated. Nope, funny did not come often. '_Maybe. I mean, who else could resist me?_'

Scoffing loudly, Tai narrowed his eyes, '_You're not that great, Ishida._'

'_Stop kidding yourself and bow to the master… anyways,_' he added, scratching his head tensely, '_So… you're not pissed that I didn't turn out to be Kari's knight in shining armor, are you?_' He passed the note to Tai, mentally crossing his fingers.

Tai's reply was scrawled quickly, as if it hadn't taken him any thought at all to write it: '_I don't think there is one._'

/_In a trap, trip I can't grip/  
/Never thought I'd be the one who'd slip/  
/Then I started to realize/  
/I was living one big lie/_  
  
/_She hates me/  
/She does/  
/She hates me/  
/La la la la/  
/I tried too hard/  
/And she tore my feelings like I had none/  
/And ripped them away/_

__

Down the hall, Kari and Yolei were having a similar discussion. Their bossy, flamboyant algebra teacher, Mrs. Nakaguri, was out sick for the day and her replacement, a timid little wisp of a man, barely out of college, had long ago given up trying to control the rioting teenagers, and was curled into a fetal position under one of the desks in the back. Kari had deemed this a fine time to recount her terrific story of victory over Matt.

"You threw soda in his face!?" Yolei cried in disbelief. Kari nodded proudly. "B-but I thought you liked him!" she stammered.

Throwing a glance at the unfortunate substitute being verbally assaulted by an unruly group of Seniors, Kari shrugged. "Not really."

"But it would be so cute! Think about it," Yolei rested a hand on her shoulder, "Ten years from now - maybe even five, we have a _double wedding_! You and I wearing matching long white dresses, Matt and Tai both decked out in similar Armani tuxedos, little pink flowers everywhere, and a great big -"

"_Yolei_," Kari interrupted sternly, "I am not gonna marry Matt Ishida."

Flashing her friend a teasing smirk, Yolei raised her voice, "Yes you are. Kari's gonna marry Matt Ishida!"

Kari sunk low in her seat, reddening to the tips of her ears, "Am not."

"Kari and Matt!" Yolei cried, attracting the attention of most of the classroom by now.

"Kari and Matt?" a puzzled Junior looked up from tormenting the substitute. He arched an eyebrow in Kari's direction, "He bangin' you?"

The scarlet of her cheeks darkened, "Excuse me? Matt Ishida is not-"

"Look at her!" an obnoxious girl Kari recognized as a friend of her brother shouted, "She's blushing! It's true! They're screwing!"

Miserable, Kari slipped lower into her seat, "I'm not… we're not…"

Taking their focus off the extremely grateful substitute, the jeering group shifted over to Kari and Yolei. "Are they engaged?" a tiny blonde girl asked. Yolei nodded affirmatively. "Damn it! So there's _no _chance of Matt asking me to the Spring Fling?" Hiding a chuckle, Yolei shook her head.

"Is she pregnant or something?" Tai's obnoxious friend asked, eager to report the dirt on his little sister to him.

"Umm," Yolei hesitated, looking down at the crumpled form of Kari under the desk, assuming a pose strikingly similar to the one their replacement algebra teacher was in not five minutes earlier. She knew Kari would kick her ass later for what she said about them being engaged, but this might be going a little too far. Her eyes darted around the faces of the interested Seniors, all hoping for a little piece of gossip to take to their friends. "Well…"

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing_

Phew, Yolei thought, _Saved by the bell_. She watched as her disappointed classmates collect their things and leave the room. Rather frightened, she knelt down next to Kari, "Kari? Class is over…"

"What… did… you… say?" came a low voice from somewhere inside the ball of cashmere and denim Yolei had never heard Kari use before.

Deciding it would be better to postpone her butt-kicking until after school, Yolei jumped up in a flash, grabbed her books, and left Kari, alone and curled into an angry ball in the algebra classroom.

  
  
/She was queen for about an hour/  
/After that, shit got sour/  
/She took all I ever had/  
/No sign of guilt/  
/No feeling of bad, no/

Still fuming, Kari stormed down the hallway to her last class, biology. In the two hours following the incident in algebra, Kari had received more comments ('You and Matt? You're sooo lucky!!', 'Hey baby, wanna give me a try?', 'When's the wedding, you dirty slut?' and the like) from people she hadn't even seen before, yet alone known, in her entire life.

"Hey there," came a voice from behind her.

Fed up, she whirled around angrily, "Listen, I'm getting sick of… Matt?"

He quickened his pace, falling into step with her, "You're getting sick of me? Are you sure, dear?"

"Yes," she fumbled for a second before regaining her coldness, "Get away from me. I really don't feel like squabbling with you right now."

Laughing, he wrapped his arm tenderly around her shoulder, "Why ever would that be? I hear you're going to be my wife, come May." With this, he gave her flat stomach an affectionate pat, "And the baby's due in July."

With a war cry worthy of _Braveheart_, she twisted free of his grip, the force of which threw them both to the hall floor "Never, ever touch me again!" Her brown eyes darted around the hallway, as a crowd of fascinated high schoolers was swarming around them, cruel whispers buzzing around like venomous bumblebees;

"OhmiGod, I think he was beating her!"

"Did they break up?"

"Did she lose the baby?"

"Does this mean they're not getting married?"

As she was feeling the anger rising in her face, one of the whispers sounded in her ear, "Just play along. I'll get us out of this." It was Matt. Unable to think of anything else to do, she nodded.

Matt started laughing as he stood up, "Good job, honey! That'll do just fine."

Uneasily, she stood up also, brushing herself off, "Thanks, _dear_, I thought so, too."

He turned, addressing the confused crowd, "What's the big show here? I was just teaching my… my… _fiancée _self-defense. We can't have little Matt Jr. getting hurt now, can we?" He rubbed her stomach again. "Did you see how she took me down? Wonderful, wonderful…" He trailed off, taking Kari's arm again, "Come on now, we've gotta get you to biology…"

"Nice try, Matt, but that didn't help." Kari frowned as they turned the corner, "Everyone still thinks we're engaged and I'm pregnant."

"But you're not."

She looked at him, baffled, "But they think I am."

"So?" he shrugged, "That doesn't mean you are. Yet." She slapped his arm lightly and he laughed, "Here's your class now."

Quickly glancing at the clock on the wall, Kari saw class would start in about thirty seconds. Matt would almost certainly be tardy. Then something came to her. "Wait… how did you know I had biology this period?"

He laughed, giving her a swift pinch on the cheek, "I know a lot more than you think. I also know that I'll see you tonight at that karaoke joint on Third Street at six thirty tonight."

Ten seconds to the bell. She smiled, "Cocky, aren't you?" With a nod, he turned and jogged off down the hall. She was still smiling as she took her seat in biology.

  
  
/In a trap, trip I can't grip/   
/Never thought I'd be the one who'd slip/  
/Then I started to realize/  
/I was living one big lie/

/She hates me/  
/She does/  
/She hates me/  
/La la la la/  
/I tried too hard/  
/And she tore my feelings like I had none/  
/And ripped them away/

This chapter is a little long. But I kind of like it. Despite the dreadful song. It didn't even fit that well. Oh well, at least they're sort of getting together now.

And I've made the first cameo appearance of someone I know. It's sort of a caricature of my geometry teacher last year. He shouldn't be hard to spot; he's the one hiding under the desks from the big, evil students. I'm gonna miss that class. If only a little.

So, I'm beginning to like this story a little. It always happens after a while. Leave me reviews. =)


	5. Your Song

The song in this chapter is property of Elton John, whom I adore for some reason. I'm sure most people have heard it because it is indeed the song Ewan McGregor sings on Moulin Rouge. But me, I prefer the initial Elton John-ness of the first song. Originally, the song was supposed to be this awesome song by the Spill Canvas, whom I also adore, but last minute, I changed it. Because this fits a lot better.

This first bit may be a little out of place, but I decided I had to add it. This entire chapter was supposed to have taken place one week after Yolei started all the rumors, but the blurb before the '_One Week Later_' takes place the same day as chapter four left off. It made me laugh to write it, and reread it, so I just kept it.  
  
Digimon doesn't belong to me, neither does "Your Song", which is property of one Sir Elton John.

I Melt With _You_

The smile on Kari's face still hadn't completely worn off when Tai came to pick her up from cheerleading practice. She was a little shocked to see her brother drive up, especially because he didn't have his own car. Also because he hadn't said anything about picking her up that morning. And partly because he was doing about 80mph in the high school parking lot. Puzzled, she turned and waved to Mimi as she opened the door of her parents' car.

"Hi Tai," she said brightly, "What's this all about?"

Without a word, he stepped on the accelerator and peeled out of the parking lot; Kari barely even had time to fasten her seatbelt. She pressed herself against the window, staring wide-eyed as he turned in the opposite direction of their apartment, "Tai… where are we going?" she breathed, slightly terrified.

He turned the wheel like a madman. "I told mom I had to take you to buy supplies for a science project."

She giggled, "But I don't even have a science project due."

"I know."

Fear crept up into her voice, "Where are you taking me?" The light ahead turned yellow, then red. Tai slammed on the brakes, sending the car to a screeching halt. He drummed his fingers nervously on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to change. "Where are you taking me?" she asked again.

"Planned parenthood," he muttered.

Kari burst out laughing, "_What?_"

No longer watching the road, he turned to her, a fierce look in his eyes, "You're not having that baby, Kari, I don't care what he says. You're fifteen, for God's sake!" At this point, she was laughing too hard to respond. Not noticing the light had turned green, Tai grasped his sister's shoulders and shook them firmly, "This is not a joke, Kari!" Unable to stop laughing, tears began to trickle out of her eyes. "OhmiGod, I'm sorry, Kar. I didn't mean to hurt you… to hurt it." He eyed her still-flat stomach miserably.

"Just drive!" Kari finally managed.

Regaining control of himself, her brother nodded and finally took his foot off of the brake. There was a celebratory honk behind them as the cars that had piled up behind them prepared to follow them through the light. Unfortunately for them, at this time, the light was now red again.

"Pull over here," she ordered, motioning to an almost-empty supermarket parking lot.

He complied, parking near the far end to prevent being disturbed. "Come on, Kari, it makes sense. You're not even showing yet… No one can tell or anything," he looked at her sternly, "Think of your future."

She rested her hands on her hips, meeting his stare. "I am not pregnant, Tai."

"That's not what… well, the entire school says."

"You're going to believe the entire school over me?"

"Is he beating you?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Maki told me that he was hitting you in the hallway today. She also said that he mentioned a Matt Jr. And people - lots of people - were saying you two are engaged."

She crossed her arms irritably, "You know me better than that, Taichi. I'd like to think you know Matt better than that, too."

"So you're not pregnant?" he asked hopefully.

"No," she replied.

He shifted back into drive, making his way out of the parking lot, "And you're not engaged?"

"Again, no."

There was total seriousness in his eyes as he looked at her, "Has he ever hit you?"

Kari couldn't help but laugh, "No! We were just playing... er, a little joke on Maki and her friends. You can even ask Yolei. She was in on it, too."

At the mention of Yolei's name, he smiled. Her face fell, _Gross, gross, gross!_ "Alright, we're just gonna tell mom your science project got postponed, okay?"

"Um… yeah," Kari said nervously, "About that… you're gonna have to tell the story solo tonight. I've gotta meet… Mimi. Can you just drop me off at that karaoke bar on Third Street instead?"

One Week Later…

"You hang up first." Matt murmured lovingly into the phone.

Kari laughed, "Alright." There was a click as she hung up. A little embarrassed, Matt placed the phone back on the cradle in Izzy's garage. Realizing what happened, the other members of the band burst into laughter. Almost immediately, their chuckles were cut short by the phone ringing again.

Shooting them a smug glare, Matt reached for the phone, "Hello?"

"You didn't really think I'd hang up on you, did you?"

He laughed, still looking at the others, "Of course not."

"I just called to say goodbye," Kari said meekly.

"Bye," He smiled, then hastily added, "See you tonight at the concert." Now it was his turn to put the phone down. The others were still gazing, open mouthed at their reformed lead singer.

TK was the first to speak, "And you make fun of _us_."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Matt," Tai said with a mocking smile, "You're whipped."

There was a sharp intake of breath as Matt's temper flared, but a moment later, he had regained his composure. He stooped down to pick up his guitar and plugged it swiftly into his amp. "I am not whipped."

His brother laughed, doing the same with his bass, "I beg to differ." The others joined in, laughing in agreement.

"Shut up, you idiots. Can we just play? We've got a show tonight," Matt said crossly.

Tai swung his guitar strap over his shoulder. "Come off of it, Ishida, you just wanna impress my sister."

Ever the one with a conscience, Izzy spoke up, "Leave Matt alone. You're as bad as he was. I think he's right. We need the practice."

"Guys," Matt said, his voice lacking the cocky undertone he usually possessed, "I've got a new song here. So, uh, do you think I could have the stage for the last couple minutes or so?"

"Kari! Are you in there?" Tai's voice yelled from outside her bedroom door; he pounded harder, shaking the doorframe, "You'd better not be sleeping, Yagami Hikari, or I'll leave without you!"

Groaning, Kari rolled over. She _had_ been sleeping. What was Tai so excited about anyway? Just then, she caught sight of the digital clock sitting on her nightstand and realized what he was yelling about. Squalor was scheduled to be onstage in twenty minutes!

Trying not to panic, she clambered out of bed. It was supposed to have just been a little nap, but Kari had accidentally slept for about three hours longer than she had planned. "You can leave without me, Tai, I'll be there soon!" she called, wanting to make sure he wasn't late.

"Are you sure?" he shouted, "Because Matt really wants you to be there!"

"Why?" she yelled back, hopping on one foot as she slid her leg into a pair of tight jeans.

Tai sounded flustered, "Erm… uh… he just does. Make sure you don't miss the end."

She masked her confusion with sisterly love, "I won't. Don't worry. Love you Tai."

"Er… love you, too. See ya there."

Deciding to opt for a more casual wardrobe this time, Kari wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a plain black tank top, paired with a pair of black platform sandals Mimi had leant her that probably cost more than the rest of the outfit combined. _Perfect_, she thought, watching her reflection in the mirror as she grabbed her purse off the bathroom counter, _Not too formal, but not too informal, either._

She bade her parents goodbye and headed out the door to the club where Squalor was performing. But no sooner than she had placed one immeasurably expensive platform sandal-adorned foot onto the sidewalk, had Davis descended upon her like a hawk.

"Kari!" he cried, as if it had been two years since the last time he set eyes upon her, instead of only two weeks. He pulled her into a warm, loving, but almost completely unreciprocated embrace. "Didja miss me?"

She smiled kindly, "Actually, I did. How was your trip?" She stole a glance at her watch; the set started in five minutes. _Hurry up, Davis…_

"I'm so glad you asked! All my cousins were there, so we played a lot of soccer. And my cousin Soeki still thinks he's, like, way better than me. Which he isn't. So we were both opposite captains and, you know, I have a _lot_, of cousins, so…" _Four minutes. Cut it short, Davis, come on! _"And there was this one girl, she was pretty ugly, but I didn't wanna be mean, so I was like…" _Please, Davis! I'm begging you! Stop… talking…. _"But then my dad bought us watermelon instead! So my _grandpa_…" _Must… get… to… show… two… minutes… left… _"And of course, Jun was all 'Oh yes I did!' but I knew better."

He stopped to take another deep breath and Kari knew it was her last chance for quite some time, "Listen, Davis. I'm real sorry, but I've got somewhere I'm supposed to be."

"Where?" he demanded somewhat impatiently.

_Best to come out with it now_, "Matt's concert."

He nodded, "You mean Tai's concert."

"No," she corrected, "Matt's concert. My… boyfriend's concert." It was the first time she'd really used the phrasing and was still unsure if it even applied. She kept her tone gentle, not wanting to hurt Davis's feelings, but still wanting to get the hell out of there.

"Your what?" he asked in disbelief.

Kari looked down shyly, "My boyfriend."

Davis looked stunned. He stammered for a few moments, then finally found words, "When did this happen?"

She paused, thinking back. "Um… about a week ago."

"Is he a better kisser than me?"

Her eyes widened, "What? Davis… We… I've never kissed you."

Bad thing to say.

Right there on the street, as Squalor was playing the opening chords of their first song about a half mile away, Davis kissed her. _Don't pull away too fast,_ she told herself, _It will only make it harder._ After about fifteen seconds, he pulled back, grinning ear to ear. "Do I measure up?"

"Well," she said, embarrassed, "Matt and I haven't kissed either." This was, of course, a lie. But the only kiss they had shared had been over a year ago, anyways. She still hadn't told anyone about this, so as far as she was concerned, it didn't even count.

"Yeah," Davis said, shrugging, "I figured that."

Kari's jaw fell open, "What?"

"I figured that."

"Then what was that for?"

"Getting in my last kicks while you'll still let me," Davis said, amidst laughter. He had known all along that Kari wouldn't let anyone, yet alone a playboy like Matt, kiss her too quickly. And he had counted on her kindness to prevent her from pushing him off like a slithering worm. However, he hadn't planned for the violent beating he would receive with Kari's handbag.

"Where are you going anyways?" Kari asked, trying to avoid laughing herself.

Davis shrugged, "I was heading over to your place to see what you were doing. Would it be terribly rude if I followed you to that concert? My parents and Jun are gonna be unpacking for a good three days, so I thought I'd sneak out and try to find some fun."

Smiling at the creativeness of her friend, she nodded. "Be my guest, the concert starts in…" she glanced at her watch, "Oh my God! The concert started ten minutes ago!"

"So?"

She grabbed Davis's wrist and began running down the sidewalk, stringing him along, " 'So?' They only play twenty minute sets! And we're about five minutes away!" And then, Davis is tow, Kari made a beeline for the tiny club.

Matt looked around anxiously as Tai held out the last chord of their fifth song. Squalor had exactly four minutes before they had to be offstage and out of there. And at the particular place they were playing, a trendy little coffee shop full of beatniks sipping lattes, the managers were especially strict about not going over time limit. Especially on Interpretive Reading Wednesday, which this was. But Kari was nowhere to be found.

"Are we still gonna play the song?" TK whispered. Matt shrugged, still looking out over the crowd.

Just then, Izzy stood up, pointing to the side entrance with his drumstick. "There." Kari stood next to Davis, eyes looking anxiously up at the stage.

_Well, _Matt thought, _Here goes nothing_…

He stepped back up to the microphone as Tai, Izzy, and TK walked offstage, leaving Matt alone with his acoustic guitar, "This will be our… my last song of the evening," he started. To his surprise, the crowd booed disappointedly. "And I'd like to dedicate this song to…" he looked at Kari, "Someone special. I hope you all like it." Looking at her again, he smiled, "Especially you." He took a deep breath, strummed the first couple chords on his guitar, and began singing:

/It's a little bit funny this feeling inside/  
/I'm not one of those who can easily hide/  
/I don't have much money, but boy if I did/  
/I'd buy a big house where we both could live/  
  
/If I was a sculptor, but then again, no/  
/Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show/  
/I know it's not much but it's the best I can do/  
/My gift is my song and this one's for you/  
  
/And you can tell everybody this is your song/  
/It may be quite simple, but now that it's done/  
/I hope you don't mind/  
/I hope you don't mind/  
/That I put down in words/  
/How wonderful life is while you're in the world/  
  
/I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss/  
/Well a few of the verses well they've got me quite cross/  
/But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song/  
/It's for people like you that keep it turned on/  
  
/So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do/  
/You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue/  
/Anyway the thing is… what I really mean/  
/Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen/

/And you can tell everybody this is your song/  
/It may be quite simple but now that it's done/  
/I hope you don't mind/  
/I hope you don't mind/  
/That I put down in words/  
/How wonderful life is while you're in the world/

There was a stunned silence following the last chord, and then the coffeehouse erupted into applause. Even the previously angry-looking interpretive readers whose show time was being eaten up clapped wildly. "Thanks," he said humbly, exiting stage left and taking his guitar with him.

As Matt descended down the stairs, he was greeted by several pats on the back and congratulating words, both from his friends and rabid fangirls who hoped the song was about them. Brushing them all off gently, he made his way over to Kari, leaning against a wall, an astonished smile on her face, "I need to talk to you outside," he said shakily.

"Okay," she replied, color beginning to rise in her cheeks.

Kari could feel every eye in the room turning to them as Matt held the side door open for her. And as they disappeared out of it, Davis gave an obnoxious whoop, making Kari blush deeper. "Where are we going?" she asked as Matt lead her down the side of the building.

"Just follow me," he answered, helping her step up onto the metal fire escape. The coffeehouse building was about nine stories tall, doubling as an apartment building filled with the depressed poet types who didn't mind the ramshackle state of their flats, since they spent most of their time sipping cappuccino at the shop downstairs anyways.

They climbed to the top of the rickety metal structure and crossed over onto the cement roof of the building. "Look at the view," Matt said wistfully, looking out over the city… or at least some of it, spread below them.

Kari leaned against him, "I really liked the song."

He looked down at her, "Really?"

"Really." she laughed, "How could I not? I think Davis started crying."

Chuckling softly, he rested his arm on her shoulder, "I think I could see that."

"I've got something for you," she whispered, sliding free of his embrace yet again.

Trying to hide his disappointment, he nodded. At first the fact that Kari was so different than the other girls he'd dated was what appealed to him about her. She wasn't the type to make out with him on the first date or fall all over herself when he smiled, but they had been a 'couple' for about a week now and still she shrunk away every time he touched her.

And what a coincidence it was that he was thinking about this, because as he was lost in thought, Kari stood on her tiptoes, took his face in her hands, and planted a long kiss on his lips.

"How was that?" she asked, cheeks a dark shade of scarlet.

He grinned, "Great."

"Can we forget about that first kiss then?" she asked meekly, her face turning a deep shade of scarlet, "I'd like to start over."

He smiled, giving her a short peck on the cheek, "What first kiss?"

Eik. No one can deny that this is sappy. Very sappy indeed.

First Davis appearance, hehe. Originally, he was supposed to have been really jealous, but I wanna try and keep this slightly in character. And it's not like he'd get all homicidal or anything, so I just threw in his little joke. Awww…

But the best part of this story is most undeniably the beginning with Tai trying to take Kari to Planned Parenthood, hah.

I think this story's gonna have only about two or three chapters left. Possibly four. The next of which will hopefully be up sometime next week. It's gonna get a little weird after this, because the way that I see this is with a lot of time passing. So, even if it sucks, be nice. Or don't. Whichever you prefer.


	6. Accidentally In Love

Author's Note to Microsoft Works AKA Satan:

DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU… er, **BACK TO HELL!**

MSW just decides to crash whenever the hell it feels. Thus losing the two pages of fluff I had struggled to pound out. Yep, 60 minutes of work. I hope it's happy.

I wanted this chapter to have a mushy, sappy love song. But not too mushy or sappy. It was gonna be I Melt With You, because I wanted the song to be in the story, but I changed it because this song is basically the essence of the whole plot to my story, so as for IMWY, it will come later. Two chapters to go following this one. Then I'll update That Summer some more. 'Accidentally In Love' is property of one of my personal favorite bands, Counting Crows.

And as for this chapter, it is 100% fluff. If you dig through long enough, you may just find some plot in there, but if you look closer, it's just hardened sap. Tee hee, I'm not used to writing romance, because I'm not a romantic by any stretch of the imagination. But the next (and final) two chapters will sound more like me; humor and angst. Two things I _can_ do. Usually.

I Melt With _You_

"Five months… eleven days… six hours… forty-one minutes!" Yolei sobbed, throwing herself onto her bed desolately.

Kari couldn't help but think this a little bit strange, "How do you remember this kind of stuff?"

Her friend covered her head wretchedly, "B-b-because I love him!" She stuttered through tears, "He was my only one!"

"I don't see what's so great about Tai," Kari muttered, "There's a thousand more just like him out there. Better ones too."

Yolei hurled a throw pillow at Kari, curling into a tiny, sobbing ball. "Not for me, there isn't! You don't know what it's like to be ugly, Kari."

Deciding it would be better to be sensitive, Kari climbed onto Yolei's bed next to her, placing a hand gently on her friend's back, "You're not ugly, Yolei. My brother was very lucky to have you."

"Yeah, sure he was." Yolei said sarcastically, "Which is exactly why he left me so he could 'keep his options open at college.' "

"He said that?"

"Of course he said that!" Yolei screeched, face still buried somewhere in the blankets of her unmade bed.

Kari attempted to hug her. "You know, there's only a few boys out there that are worth crying over and the ones that are won't do it."

"Really?" Yolei looked up, eyes still red and puffy.

Kari smiled, "Yes, really. There's a whole lot of smarter, nicer, cuter fish in the sea -"

"What about Matt?" Yolei asked suddenly, reaching for her glasses on the nightstand, "Would you cry over him?"

"Um," Kari blushed, "I'm not sure, I mean…"

The older girl scoffed, cleaning her lenses off, "You two have the _strangest_ relationship I've ever seen. You've been dating at least five months; almost as long as me and Tai… were. And I've barely even see you kiss."

"We kiss -"

"You never hold hands when you're out in public…"

"Yes we do -"

"Aside from that song he wrote you, there has been absolutely no indication that you two are even dating! You avoid each other like the plague…"

"We just don't want to -"

"Fine then, Kari. Name three romantic things you two have done together over the past five months." For most people, this would be no problem, but Yolei figured she had the couple pinned down. Kari would be unable to think of anything, proving she was still as cold-hearted as the day Yolei and Tai had fixed the two up.

"Alright," Kari said uncomfortably. "But I don't see how this will help you getting over my brother…"

"It will," Yolei assured her, "Just start."

So she did:

"Our one-month anniversary was February 13th, the day before Valentine's day, except I didn't remember this, of course..."

/So she said what's the problem baby/  
/What's the problem I don't know/   
/Well maybe I'm in love/  
/Think about it every time/  
/I think about it/  
/Can't stop thinking 'bout it/  
  
/How much longer will it take to cure this/  
/Just to cure it cause/  
/I can't ignore it if it's love/  
/Makes me wanna turn around and face me/  
/But I don't know nothing 'bout love/

"Practice on a Saturday morning?" Kari cried, "Does Suki want us, like, dead or something?"

Not taking her eyes off the road, Mimi chuckled, "Actually, I think it's just you. What did you do to piss her off so bad?"

The younger girl looked up from tying her shoelaces, "She really does hate me?"

"You haven't noticed?! My gosh, every time you fall out of step - even a little - she makes us all stop and start over. Plus she's always talking about how weird you are in the locker room. Once she said she even heard you talking about yourself."

"Gee," Kari said glumly, "Thanks Mimi."

The older girl grinned brightly, setting the parking brake in the school parking lot, "No problem, dear."

Cheerleading practice went pretty much the same way it always had for Kari. She wasn't the loudest or the least flexible of the group, but she certainly wasn't the best either. But the fact remained that every time Kari made an error, even a tiny one, Suki would call the rehearsal to a halt, point out Kari's mistake, and make a big point of showing the girl how to do it correctly.

By the time the hour and a half practice was over, Kari was equally exhausted and humiliated. A scowl was set deep into her face as she swung open the door to Mimi's unbelievably-expensive-like-all-the-rest-of-her-stuff convertible and slumped into the leather seat.

"Um…" Mimi started, eyeing her friend's face worriedly.

"Don't even start."

"But…"

"What did I do to make Suki hate me so much? I mean, I'm not _that _bad of a person, am I? You'd think I tried to, like, kill her family or something? Now on top of being embarrassed in front of the entire squad _again_, I'm also tired as hell because I had to do everything six freaking times! If anyone else does anything to piss me off, I swear, I'll -"

"Um, Kari?" Mimi interrupted.

Kari's brown eyes darted over to the nervous older girl. "What?" she spat.

"I, well, I… I can't give you a ride home."

"What?!" Kari roared, "Why not?!"

Mimi shrank down in her seat, "I can't tell you. I just… can't."

Furious, Kari climbed out and slammed the door behind her, giving Mimi the finger as she stormed back onto the curb. She sat, head in her hands, for a few moments before spotting Suki's black Mercedes double-parked in a handicap spot in front of the school. Kari looked back mischievously, knowing Suki had a captains meeting with the school gym teacher for the next half hour, but just wanting to make sure.

She unzipped her purse and dug through the contents, quickly finding her bottle of bright red nail polish. Grinning evilly, she stood up and crept across the sidewalk to Suki's car. Just as she had twisted off the top, she heard a voice behind her, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Someone might be watching…"

Instantly, she froze and turned around. She dropped the topless bottle of nail polish with a sigh of relief when she saw it was Matt. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to stop you," he said calmly, "She would of found out."

"I know," Kari sighed, looking down at her shoes. "Shit! I spilled nail polish all over my shoes! Augh, I can't wear these to the game! Now I'm gonna have to buy new ones…" She took a few steps over, burying her face in Matt's chest. "Everything sucks today…" she moaned.

"It's alright," he smiled, wrapping his arms around her protectively, "Do you know what today is?" She shook her head, not making a sound. "Good, because I've got somewhere to take you." With that, he took Kari's hand and led her across the parking lot to his car.

Matt's car wasn't exactly as nice as Mimi's or Suki's. It wasn't even in the same league based on stereo, upholstery, engine, or paint job. Similar to her brother's, all it could really do was run. Once in a while, the two would make a game of trying to understand a song coming through on the radio, but other than that, it wouldn't be nearly as fun to ride in as Mimi's car, except for the fact that it was with Matt. And that made all the difference to her.

Cheering up a bit, she smiled. "Where do we have to go?"

Matt rustled around in the backseat for a moment before coming up with a red bandana. "Now, I know you're in a pissy mood right now," he coaxed, leaning over her, "But you're gonna have to trust me here." With that, he tied the bandana around her head, covering her eyes. "Can you see anything?" Kari shook her head no. "Good," he grinned, getting back in the driver's seat, "It won't be long now."

When Matt finally took the blindfold off, about ten minutes later, Kari first laughed and then broke into peals of laughter. They were at the same resturant, the same booth of their first date; the dinky pizza parlor in the mall. A large cheese pizza sat in the middle of the table, a solitary pink candle stuck in the center. "Happy anniversary," Matt said, grinning ear-to-ear, "I even got you some Pepsi, in case you wanted to throw it in my face again."

"Matt!" she cried, euphoric, "I… I don't know what to…" she stopped, taking a drink of the soda, "I don't think that will be necessary."

/Come on, come on/   
/Turn a little faster/  
/Come on, come on/   
/The world will follow after/  
/Come on, come on/  
/Cause everybody's after love/

"Awww," Yolei gushed, "Tai never did anything like that for me!"

Kari looked at her, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, "See what I mean? He wasn't that great…"

Yolei sniffed, wiping her eye, "I don't know… keep going, please?"

"Of course," Kari answered, beginning the second story…

_"This one's really cheesy. It took place sometime in March, I think. I had never really been in love before, so naturally, when I first realized it, it all seemed sort of sudden…"_

/So I said I'm a snowball running/  
/Running down into the spring that's coming all this love/   
/Melting under blue skies/   
/Belting out sunlight/  
/Shimmering love/

/Well baby I surrender/   
/To the strawberry ice cream/  
/Never ever end of all this love/  
/Well I didn't mean to do it/   
/But there's no escaping your love/ 

__

And sudden it was. Kari lay spread-eagle on her bed, staring up at the ceiling wistfully when it came to her. Hit her like a freight train. There was a split second where she didn't quite realize what this situation was, but an instant later, she had it figured out: _I'm in love._

It was a strange feeling and surely a strange way to realize it, but the more Kari lay there, the more she stared into space, the more true it became. She was hopelessly, totally, and undeniably in love with the last person in the world she ever thought it would happen with. To be perfectly honest, this wasn't the best time for her, especially because she and Tai were going to meet up with Matt and Yolei at the movies in about fifteen minutes and -

"Wait a minute! I'm in this one?" Yolei interrupted.

"Yep," Kari nodded, "And the next one, too."

Yolei seemed to be thinking for a moment, "You said this took place in March?"

"Yes…"

"I think I remember that day! Did you tell him you love him, Kari?"

Kari blushed, "Er… let me finish the story."

To be perfectly honest, this wasn't the best time for her, especially because she and Tai were going to meet up with Matt and Yolei at the movies in about fifteen minutes and Kari wasn't quite sure how she'd react. It couldn't really be that much different, could it?

Of course, Kari was wrong. When she and Tai stepped into the lobby of the movie theater, Matt was already there. And Kari felt her heart rise up into her throat: it _was_ different. Well, it surely wasn't his appearance: He was the same old Matt in his vintage tshirts and khakis with the knees torn out that she had known since childhood. _No,_ she decided, _I think it's me that's different. I'm the one who's changed._

During the entire movie, Kari could hardly concentrate on the screen. Which was bad, since she had nothing to tell Yolei when she would lean over and ask what was going on. This was because Yolei was missing most of the key plot events on account of she was making out with Tai throughout most of the picture. Matt's arm rested on her shoulder, nothing more, but it was enough to make her begin to sweat.

"Are you alright?" Matt whispered into her ear, sensing her tension.

Kari shook her head no, "Will you come to the bathroom with me?"

He made a face, "Um… sure…"

Attempting to de-sweat her palm, she wiped it on her jeans and took his hand, closing her eyes as they brushed past her brother and best friend entwined in a long embrace. Once they got to the entrance of the bathrooms, she gave his hand a tug and pulled him inside the girls ones, "What are we doing?" he hissed as she opened the door to a stall.

"I need to talk to you," she whispered back, climbing onto the grimy toilet.

"In here?" he asked, climbing up next to her.

She glanced around at the filthy walls, hundreds of names carved into the metal stall, a small puddle of what she hoped was water on the little square of floorspace, someone's blue sweatshirt wadded up and left on the back of the toilet. "Yes," she nodded, "In here."

"Alright, what is it?"

"Er…" she hesitated, shifting her weight and feeling the weight of her brother's pocket knife in her jeans pocket, "Well, I…" She looked up at him; it was the same old Matt. The one she loved. Mustering up her strength, she reached into her pocket and took out the knife.

"What's that?" He asked, becoming more and more confused.

Silently, she flipped open the blade, leaned forward, and began carving into the metal of the stall door. '_I-_' She had a little trouble at first, trying to form letters, but as she went on, it got easier, "_L-O-V-E-_' At this time, she looked back at Matt, who had figured out what she was doing by now; his expression was unreadable. But it was too late to turn back now. '_Y-O-U_'

"Say it." He commanded softly.

Her eyes grew wide and she turned and looked at him, knowing she meant it, "I love you."

There was a long pause as he processed this information in his head. Wordlessly, he took the knife from her hands and scratched the letters '_Y-I_' underneath where Kari had written it, followed by the date, '_03-29_'. He turned to her, meaning it too, "I love you, too."

Grinning, she took the knife back yet again and added a '_H-Y_' next to his initials. Before she could say anything, there was a sharp pounding on the door, "If you kids think no one saw you go in there, you're wrong! Exit the stall now or we will be forced to kick you out!" Kari and Matt stepped off the toilet embarrassedly and walked past the shocked group of middle-aged women back to their movie. Tai and Yolei hadn't even noticed they were gone.

/These lines of lightning/   
/Mean we're never alone/   
/Never alone, no, no/

/Come on, Come on/  
/Move a little closer/   
/Come on, Come on/  
/I want to hear you whisper/  
/Come on, Come on/  
/Settle down inside my love/

"We were not making out that much!" Yolei protested, although she was laughing, "I don't believe it, though. Yagami Hikari vandalizing? You might has well have told me you two were in there making a baby."

Kari smiled knowingly, "It's still there. You can go see it if you'd like."

"Maybe I will. Now go on, you said you'd tell me three."

The younger girl now moved onto the floor next to her friend, "Alright, and this is my favorite. You'll remember it well; it took place a couple weeks ago." She took a deep breath and began the final story…

"My sixteenth birthday wasn't supposed to be that big of a deal. But as you'll recall, everyone else seemed to have other plans…"

_  
  
/Come on, come on/   
/Jump a little higher/  
/Come on, come on/  
/If you feel a little lighter/  
/Come on, come on/   
/We were once/  
/Upon a time in love/_

_Please don't let this be like Sixteen Candles,_ Kari thought, sitting down to breakfast with her parents the morning of her birthday. Even if they forgot, it still wouldn't be the same. She already _had_ the cute senior; except he was out of town for the weekend and had probably forgotten, too. Her father was busy with the newspaper, Tai was busy rooting around in the fridge for some orange juice, and her mother was busy with her French toast. "I think I'm gonna go to Yolei's." She announced after a long silence.

"_NO!_" Her family all jumped up from their respected spots.

"No?" Kari asked, puzzled.

"I've got vacuuming for you to do -" proclaimed her mother.

"I want you to burn me that CD now!" shouted Tai.

"And you need to feed the dog!" added her father.

Kari looked at him, "We don't have a dog."

"Then, er - feed your… brother." He said quickly.

Glaring daggers at them, Kari crossed the kitchen and produced the orange juice from the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. She handed it to Tai bitterly and stormed into the living room, "One down, two to go."

Oddly enough, every time Kari would finish one of their rapidly thrown out menial tasks, they would quickly come up with another; just as menial. It took until around two p.m. before she finally collapsed onto the couch in a heap of exhaustion and rage.

Not long after, she was joined by Tai, who perched tentatively on the edge of the sofa, "Still wanna go to Yolei's?"

"No," Kari said flatly.

His eyes widened, "Er… why not?"

"Not in the mood to watch you two make out. I miss Matt."

"He's been gone for… what? Two days?"

"Yes."

"Do you wanna go to Yolei's yet?"

Kari heaved a throw pillow at his head, watching narrow-eyed as it bounced harmlessly off his hair, "I told you, I'm not going."

"But you _have _to," Tai whined.

"And why is that?"

"Uh… just because… you do," he stammered.

Deciding to mess with her brother, Kari sat up and playfully draped her feet over his lap, "Why would that be?"  
"Just because. Kari, please, you've gotta go to Yolei's," he pleaded.

She wiggled her toes, "I don't know…"

"Please?"  
Her temper flaring, she swung her feet onto the ground and stood up, pacing back and forth. "_No_, I'm not going to Yolei's because as soon as I open the door, a bunch of idiots will burst out of her bedroom and yell -" she tore around the corner into the Yagami family kitchen, where a bunch of idiots lay in wait.

"Surprise!" Came the excited cheer. Kari shrieked as she surveyed the mass of people crowding into the tiny kitchen along with her parents. TK and Sora were, of course, pressed against opposite walls to avoid any further awkward contact since their break-up; Davis and Yolei held the cake: frosted white with little red roses, both sporting matching eager grins; Izzy and Ken watched Kari shyly, fingers permanently entwined; Mimi held a giant box wrapped in shiny blue paper that Kari hoped was those pink legwarmers they had seen in the mall; Joe was chatting up her dad in the corner, and rounding out the group, Cody stared sullenly out the window, probably wishing he was somewhere else like usual.

Rounding out the group. That was it. No Matt, of course.

"Well," she breathed, trying to hide disappointment, "The gangs all here…"  
"No they aren't," Yolei blurted. Davis jammed an elbow into her side.

From behind her, Tai put a hand on her shoulder, "She's right."

The sound of an acoustic guitar drifted in from the other room. Kari could hardly contain her excitement, though she tried, as she turned to find Matt standing in the living room where she and Tai had stood only moments before. He took a few steps toward the group, strumming the guitar. "Happy birthday to you," he started, alone. She stood, awestruck, as one by one, her friends and family joined him in the singing.

"…Happy birthday to you!" By the end, everyone had joined in and burst into scattered applause. Davis and Yolei sat the cake down on the table and stood back as Mr. Yagami lit all sixteen candles, one at a time. Kari closed her eyes, made a wish, and blew as hard as she could.

Fifteen candles fizzled out.

Instantly, every eye flicked to the solitary pink candle still burning, stuck into the center of a red rose at the far corner of the cake. In the blink of an eye, Matt licked his index finger, reached across the table, and snuffed the flame. Applause broke out again.

The party wasn't exactly bangin' by anyone's standards, but everyone had fun. The cake Yolei had made was terrific, Kari's parents only made two attempts to dance (a record!), and TK and Sora even got into an amusing argument in front of everyone culminating with both parties bursting into tears and running into their respected best friends' bedroom to sob.

As Kari was attempting to coax TK out of her room, Matt slid up behind her, "Can I talk to you?"

Sighing, she nodded. "Alone again, I presume." After four months, everyone knew they were dating, but every time they did anything remotely intimate, Matt pulled her into a secluded place. She wasn't huge on PDA, but it almost felt like he was ashamed.

Without answering, he took her hand, leading her out to the living room, where everyone else was watching Mrs. Yagami doing 'The Robot' on top of the coffee table.

When they reached the center of the living room, Matt stopped, took her hands in his, and looked into her eyes, "I love you." It was clear and articulate and every head in the room snapped to attention, having rarely heard the two exchange tender words, yet alone I-love-yous.

But Matt wasn't done. He reached into the pocket of his old pair jeans and pulled out a small black box, unmistakably containing jewelry. Every female in the room sighed, wishing their respective significant others would buy them jewelry. "Happy birthday," he said softly, popping the tiny box open.

"Oh my God!" Yolei squawked, shattering the moment, "Is he proposing?"

Matt turned red, "Er… no."

Yolei's face fell, "Oh. Sorry, then."

Two tears formed in Kari's eyes as she gazed upon the contents of the box: it was a tiny gold locket, shaped like a heart. She blinked, attempting to banish the tears back to where they came from, but instead forced them out to trickle slowly down her cheeks. The group watched expectantly as Kari pried open the tiny locket, each expecting to find a picture of the couple, 'I love you', or something similar.

Her eyes scanned over the contents of the locket, taking only a quick moment before averting her eyes back up. She said nothing.

"Lemme see that, Kari," Tai said, snatching the necklace out of her hand. He read it quickly, then looked up, confused. "03-29? What's that supposed to mean?"

Neither party responded; both just stood, gaze locked. Another tear made its way down Kari's cheek.

Mimi stepped forward, taking the necklace out of Tai's hand and dangling it in front of Kari, "It's obviously something important to _them_. Right? Kari? Matt? You guys listening?"

Needless to say, they weren't. Matt put his hand on her cheek, brushed away the tear, and kissed her. Right in front of everyone.

/We're accidentally in love/  
/Accidentally in love/  
/Accidentally/   
/I'm In Love, I'm in Love/   
/I'm in Love, I'm in Love/  
/I'm in Love, I'm in Love/

/Accidentally/

Yolei had stopped crying long ago, but now she was near tears again. But not for the same reason as she had been earlier. "So that's what that damn locket meant! The date you two wrote on the bathroom…"

Kari touched a finger to her throat, where the locket rested, "Yes."

"Awww, you too are too damn adorable. Cute as puppies, you are."

"You sound like Yoda," Kari snapped, trying to sound cruel despite her silly grin.

"I don't usually say this, but you were right. I'm better off without Tai," Yolei proclaimed, standing up, "Deserve me, he does not."

Kari giggled, "You go girl!" The long, awkward silence that always follows when that phrase is used ensued. "Did I pull that off?" Kari managed meekly.

"Nope."

"Damn it."

"Anyways, I think I've fond someone new already," the older girl continued, studying her reflection in the mirror and opting to apply another coat of lip gloss.

Feigning jealousy, Kari crossed her arms, "I don't care how cute you thought my stories were. You can't have Matt."

"No, not Matt. Someone new. Someone available."

"So soon?"

"Come on, it's been three hours and forty-nine minutes already. You expect me to wait around forever?"

"_Excuse_ me…" Kari shot back, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Switching to applying eyeliner, Yolei nodded, somehow managing to not smudge it a bit; the girl had a talent for makeup. "I'm feeling adventurous. I think I'll go talk to him right now."

"What about me?" the younger girl threw up her hands, "And who is this mystery boy?"

"You know him well."

"TK?"

"Try again."

"Cody?"

"No way!"

"Ken's gay, Yolei."

"I know. It's not Ken."

"Izzy? Joe? Could it be Tai again?"

"All wrong."

It couldn't be. It wouldn't work. Ever. Under any circumstance. "Did I say Cody?"

"Yes, you said Cody."

"I know him well?" Yolei nodded. This, of course, left one person. A lump rose in her throat, "Davis?" she choked.

"Bingo," Yolei said, grabbing her purse and heading for the door, "You coming with?" Trying to swallow the growing lump, Kari could only nod and watch her friend venture out to make a gigantic fool of herself.

/Come on, come on/  
/Spin a little tighter/  
/Come on, come on/  
/And the world's a little brighter/  
/Come on, come on/  
/Just get yourself inside her love/  
/We're accidentally in love/

  
****

Reviewer Notes:

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PK _- Er… I think I have a bit of a Davis bias. Just because he's portrayed as an asshole on every other fic on here and if I had to pick a favorite character it would be him. But I've always liked TK, too. The next chapter is slightly more Davis-centric. With more of him being super terrific. So biased._

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Sen-Tay _- I think you know this is coming? You do? Okay, well… you rock._

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Lets-Play-With-Matches _- No, that was sap. This chapter is fluff. Pointless, useless romantic trash. Thanks for all the reviews! =)_

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Kieri Baka Katsumi _- Thanks for leaving me such nice reviews. Without reviews, I'd be one sad, unmotivated little girl._

****

Crystal _- Er… I think I already explained everything to you. Um, Ryan is better than Seth, bwahahahaha. =P_

Like I said, two more chapters to go. And this is the last of the fluff, so kiss it goodbye, you won't see it EVERAGAIN!


	7. All Hail The Heartbreaker

Geez, this is depressing. Which kinda sucks because this is the last I think I can write for a while. Dad decided he didn't want cable internet any more and the guys are coming to pick up the modem tomorrow. I'm gonna fight them off best as I can, but I can only do so much. I'm 5'2, after all.

So this is a bad place to be leaving you, but I haven't even written chapter eight yet. But yes, this is the sad part of the story. 'All Hail The Heartbreaker' (property of The Spill Canvas, not _moi_.) is a sad, albeit good, song. The last chapter could come in a week or in a month, quite frankly I have no idea.

It may look like there's gonna be sex in this chapter, but hold out. Everyone in this story remains celibate. Or at least I think. I'm not writing any sex into it. I'm not saying some of the characters didn't… er… go off on their own, but that was on their time. Not mine.

So if lemon freaks you out, glance at the rating. It will remain PG-13. And that's a mild one, too. If Kari hadn't let that f-bomb slip in chapter 3, it probably could have been PG. Oh well.

Reviewers' Notes at the end…

****

I Melt With _You_

"So, do you miss me?" Matt asked her, cradling the phone between his ear and his shoulder what seemed like a million miles away.

"Not yet," she lied, "You're only about an hour from here."

"I miss you." He murmured, watching as the movers centered his couch on the living room wall. "How's Yolei?"

She laughed, "Like you care. But anyways, she's in heavy pursuit of Davis as of late."

"He interested?"

"Are you kidding?" she chuckled, "He's avoiding her like a disease. Actually, I'm going over there tonight."

"Yolei's?"

"No, Davis's."

"Oh."

"I'd better get going, then. Are you guys still playing Charlie's this weekend?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you then, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."

She hung up the phone, a statistic she had read somewhere sticking in her mind: most relationships where one party goes to college and the other is still in high school don't last. '_It's unlikely_,' the article had said. He had thousands of college girls at his feet, she had no one there to protect her. Not that she needed protecting, anyway.

_He didn't sound too happy… maybe he's hiding something,_ she pondered while she pulled a baggy blue sweater over her head. _He couldn't be cheating on me already? It's too soon. Right? _"It's never too soon," she said glumly, "Thousands of college girls at his feet."

"Mom, I'm going to Davis's house!" she called, grabbing her purse on the way out. She had inherited Tai's old car when he had moved out two weeks earlier and no longer needed to wait for a ride from Mimi or take the subway, which despite the fact that she was without a brother, was pretty cool.

She parked the car in front of Davis's house, left her purse in the car, and knocked on his door. "Yolei!" she heard from inside, "Out! I mean it, Kari's here!"

"Come on, Davis! I'm friends with her too…"

"No! Put that down, Yolei, now!"

_Crash!_

"Damn it, Yolei! My mother's gonna kill me! That was her favorite lamp!"

"She'll never know… I'll clean it up, honest!"

"No… you… won't! Get… out!"

The door swung open as a wide-eyed Yolei stepped out, "Oh, hi Kari." Yolei was covered, head to toe in what looked like powdered sugar and had a glob of something sticky and brown in her hair. "We were making brownies!" she said cheerfully, "They're still in the oven, but you can have some when they're done. Byyyyye Davis!"

Kari stepped in, surveying the damage that was the Motomiya family apartment. "That bad? She never did this to our house."

"Your parents never left her alone there," Davis muttered, cleaning some of the sticky mass out of his ear.

She giggled, "True. How long are they gone for?"

"The whole weekend. If I'm lucky, I might have this cleaned up by then."

"Don't worry, Dai, I'll help."

Even with Kari's help, it took the two well over an hour to restore the house to its usual order. There was gobs of the brown mass that Yolei had passed off as brownie batter everywhere imaginable, powdered sugar spread throughout the bathroom, and shards of lamp scattered about the living room. Once they had finished, Kari sat on the couch and promptly began going through Davis's DVDs.

"Look what I've got…" he said, entering the room with a fancy-looking bottle of wine.

Kari almost burst out laughing, "Where'd you get that?"

"Eh, it's my parents'. They've had it in the cupboard for years, it won't be missed."

She looked at him apprehensively, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he waved her off. Grinning, he popped the cork of the bottle, sending it flying full-force at Kari. She shrieked and ducked just in time for it to bounce against the couch. He took a big drink right from the bottle and wiped his mouth, laughing.

"Gross! You'd better not have backwashed, Davis! I want mine in a glass." She said, disgusted.

He extended the bottle to her, "Wussy."

"I'm not a wuss," she protested. Davis looked indifferent. "Fine," she breathed, taking the bottle from him and taking a swig of her own. "See?"

"Admirable." He flopped onto the couch next to her and clicked the remote, beginning some lame horror film they'd each seen a thousand times. The bottle was passed back and forth quite a few times and by the time the first hour had passed, neither party was paying the slightest bit of attention to the television screen.

"You know what?" Kari asked, turning to face him.

"Huh?"

"I think Matt's cheating on me," she announced, setting the half-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table.

He scooted closer to her tentatively, "Really?"  
"Yeah."

"Well… how come?"

"Ugh, I dunno. He's acting so… detached lately. More than usual, I mean."

He edged closer yet again, "How does that make you feel?"

"You sound like a shrink," she said bitterly, picking up the bottle again. She looked at it for a few moments before raising the bottle back to her lips, "Pissed, I guess." She punctuated this statement with a long drink from the bottle.

Still clinging to an inch of sobriety, Davis placed his hand on the bottle, "Whoa. I think you've had enough."

She snatched it back. "I'll tell you when I've had enough."

"Whatever," he sighed, leaning back against the couch.

To her surprise as much as his, she leaned back with him, pressing her mouth to his. It wasn't a simple or sweet kiss as the one he had forced upon her in the street, but a passionate, hungry one tasting as much of wine as another drink from the bottle would have.

Moving quickly on equal parts alcohol, passion, and vengeance, the two quickly found themselves horizontal on the couch and moving fast. Their contact hardly broke as she sat the bottle gently on the table, not spilling a drop. Almost immediately, she pulled the sweater over her head, leaving her only in a flimsy pink tank top, fingers eagerly dancing over the buttons on Davis's button-down shirt.

As if her fingers were on fire, he jumped back, rolling out from under her, "We don't need to do this."

"Yes we do," Kari giggled, leaning back over him, "Don't think about it," she whispered, beginning to unbutton his shirt. Knowing there was no use protesting, Davis succumbed and sat back on the couch as she removed the shirt. "There, that's better, isn't it?"

"Sure," he mumbled, still feeling guilty.

Tossing the shirt onto the ground, she leaned in hungrily for another kiss. The poor boy had no choice but to return it. Sure, he had always wanted Kari, but it wasn't supposed to be like this.

She pressed her body to his, forcing him back into the same position on the couch. Her left arm curving around his shoulder, she pulled off the tank top, leaving herself clad only in a white bra. Davis shut his eyes, suitably embarrassed. This went on for a little south of ten minutes, her kissing him passionately, hands roving about his body, him too terrified to do anything but even more terrified to pull away. At this point it was clear to him, regardless of the haze the alcohol was casting over his brain, that their friendship would probably never be the same again.

But the terror vanished the instant her fingers touched the button on his jeans. Davis flinched and twisted away as if her fingers had been engulfed in flames. "Whoa," he stammered, his head returning slightly, "You've got a boyfriend."

"He'll never know," she purred, making another blind swipe at his fly.

Davis rubbed his forehead, already beginning to get a slight headache, "I'm not gonna do this. Not now. You're drunk… I'm drunk."

"I'm not drunk," she hiccupped.

Deciding not to dignify this with an answer, the shirtless boy stood up, watching as the living room did a sickeningly dizzy spin before his eyes, "We've gotta get you to bed."

She nodded her head, "I feel a little sick."

"A little?"

"Yes."

He took her hand and began to walk in the direction of his bedroom, confused when she didn't follow him. "Kari? Come on." She took a few stumbling steps, going, of course, in the complete wrong direction and coming to a collapse on the couch. Sighing, Davis picked the girl up, marveling at how light she was in his arms. He walked her to the bedroom, watching as her eyes fluttered open and closed, slipping in and out of consciousness as he lay her in his bed.

"Davis?" he heard as he turned to leave the room.

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me goodnight?"

This time, the kiss tasted like nothing. Because that's what it was.

Kari awoke late the next morning, looked around at the soccer posters on the walls, shirts strewn across the floor, and dirty socks draped over the TV, then down at her body, clad only in a thin camisole and underwear, and screamed at the top of her lungs.

This, of course, brought Davis running. "You're awake," he said enthusiastically.

"Did you rape me?"

"What?"

"You heard me, Motomiya. Did you rape me?"

He chuckled casually, "Of course not."

"Then why am I at your house? What the hell happened last night?" she demanded.

His eyebrows shot sky-high as he sat next to her on the bed, "You don't remember?"

"I came over…" she started, picking at her brain, "We had wine… and then… I don't know. Did you drug me or something?"

"You sorta drugged yourself and…"

"And what?"

Davis looked down nervously, not wanting to meet her eyes, "You kissed me. You kissed me a lot."

She sunk back into the pillow, "Anything else?"

He shook his head, "You wanted to. I didn't."

There was a long silence, "Oh God…" she said finally. "What will Matt say?"

"I know what he'll say. He'll ask you if you want me to make some eggs."

Despite the overwhelming ocean of guilt she was drowning in, she smiled, "That'd be nice." He started to leave the room, but she stopped him, "Davis?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking care of me last night."

He smiled and headed for the door again, "And Davis?" she said again.

"Yeah?"

"I love you." And she meant it.

Jun Motomiya could not believe what she was hearing. Her own brother had gotten Matt Ishida's girlfriend drunk and made out with her last night? She couldn't have made it more perfect if she tried. From the other side of her brother's door, she heard footsteps; he was leaving the room. It was time to get out - and now. But she had heard all she needed to hear, and she was certain Matt would love to hear it too.

_Is guilt something you can see?_ Kari wondered as she re-checked her reflection in the grimy bathroom mirror at Charlie's that night. With the exception of the fallen look on her face, she looked pretty much the same. With a little effort, she forced a smile onto her pale lips. Perfect. Or at least close to it. In the mirror, she was the same old Kari. Not the one who had fooled around with her best friend immediately after her boyfriend left for college. That Kari was hiding behind her pearly white teeth.

Turning back to the mirror a third time, she studied her face slowly, as if it was still impossible to believe what she had done was not spelled out on her forehead. _Because if it is, I'm screwed._

A final fleeting glance and a nervous, gasping breath and she was out the door into the dimly lit bar.

No sooner than she had slid onto the stool at the two-person table she now shared with Ken, as Yolei and Sora had sworn off the shows after their respective breakups, the four members of Squalor trudged onto the small stage. It didn't take much to see they were distressed.

"Mind if I join you?" asked a perky voice behind them. Kari and Ken turned to find Jun, Davis's wild-haired older sister leaning against their table, wearing her usual red and blue Squalor tshirt. All of their friends had purchased a shirt, simply to help the band out, but Jun was the only person Kari had ever seen wearing one. And she wore it often.

"Nah," Kari said, smiling cheerfully at Jun as if she hadn't woken up in her apartment that morning with a major hangover and faint recollections of hooking up with her younger brother.

Jun pulled up an extra chair and was about to say something when Tai spoke into his microphone. "Uh, good evening everyone…" He never quite had the charisma required to be a front man, but was a pretty respectable guitarist. "This, well, this'll be our last show tonight. Due to… well, creative differences, Squalor has decided to call it quits."

A collective gasp rose from the audience. A single tear fell from Jun's right eye. Kari's eyes darted to Matt, standing sullenly next to his brother. He was usually the one who introduced the shows and would absolutely be the one to make an announcement like this. _What timing… it couldn't be because of… no way, that's impossible._

"So this is gonna be our last show with Matt, here." Tai placed a hand stiffly on his friend's shoulder. "But, come fall, the rest of us… well, TK, Izzy, and I are thinking of starting a new band…" A cheer swept the audience; Squalor had a small, but dedicated following that was probably disappointed to hear about Matt, but relieved their band was still going to be around. If only partially.

_Oh God - it is me,_ Kari thought, earnestly trying to make eye contact with Matt to no avail. How was it that he could look everywhere _except _at her? Like she was in a black hole torn in his vision, invisible from ten feet away.

_But how could he know?_

The question burned like a torch in her mind: Davis would never tell. Ever. And she sure as hell didn't tell anyone. So who could it have been? No one else was there. _Or were they?_

Without lifting her head, Kari flicked her glance over to the smiling figure of Jun next to her, smiling along as if nothing was new. And nothing was.

_Jun._

By the end of the band's set, there wasn't a doubt in Kari's mind that Jun had heard something and spilled it all to Matt. And why wouldn't she? It wasn't exactly a secret that she had been after Matt for years now. A part of her wanted to be mad; to scream, to yell at Jun, but another part knew she deserved it. She brought this on herself.

One by one, the band members set down their instruments and exited the stage, Izzy, TK, Tai… each flashing a humble smile and a tiny wave to the crowd, knowing they would soon return, maybe with a little less glory and a little rougher sound, but return all the same. Everyone watched expectantly as Matt stood, alone on the stage, much as he had all those months ago as he professed his, well, like for her. As she watched, Kari harbored a sickening feeling in her stomach that told her this could very well just be the opposite.

"I dunno if this is allowed or what, but I think I'm just gonna borrow about five minutes of your time as a farewell; a swan song of sorts." The crowd murmured its approval and Matt hopped offstage, produced a small metal stool, and dropped it front and center. Kari's knuckles turned white grasping the edge of the table, knowing full well what was coming.

"How many of you out there have had your hearts broken before?" he asked, nodding as a good two-thirds of the crowd raised their hands, Jun included. She flashed one final smile to Kari, savoring the moment the younger girl's head was resting on the chopping block. All he had to do was bring down the blade now.

"You never see it coming, do you? You trust someone, think they trust you, too. But that's all shit, isn't it?" He was looking directly at Kari now, making no secret of it either.

Ken leaned across the table, "What is he talking about, Kari?"

She didn't respond, watched as if in a daze as Matt continued on onstage; eyes boring holes right through her. She couldn't bear to look away.

"And that's how I was. I'm sorry to say, folks, but I can relate. And I don't know if _you_ know it; if I have to say it or what, but it's over, right? That's how it goes when you find someone new. I guess I just wish you would have told me first."

The crowd 'Oooh'-ed at this one, a few of them clapping in agreement. They've had their hearts broken before. Everyone's got a story.

But Matt isn't done: "So I guess we'll just end this one the way it started: me and my guitar."

When he starts playing, the song is a little faster; feigning happiness. It almost sounds as if this was all a joke, nothing's wrong. Squalor is still Squalor. Kari never took that first sip, there was certainly no need for a second. But all of this is shattered when Matt starts singing…

__

/Had the notion that you'd make me change my ways/   
/And the bad habits would be gone in a matter of days/   
/I had the feeling that you'd open up my eyes/   
/To a whole new world that's since been in disguise/   
/But that day will most likely never come for me/   
/And it's just my luck to end up/   
/Getting stuck to everything you are/   
  
/She truth is tonight I'll sit and pick apart your pictures/   
/And overanalyze your words/   
/That I've never fallen so hard/   
/It's taking everything in me/   
/Just to forget your sweater so far/   
  
/I had the notion that/   
/You'd make me forget the world/   
/But your undecisive mind/   
/Shows me that you are just another girl/   
/I had the feeling that those/   
/Looks you gave me were real/   
/What if I ripped your heart apart at the seams/   
/Maybe then you'd know how I feel/   
  
/But that day will most likely never come for me/   
/And it's just my luck to end up/   
/Getting stuck to everything you are/   
  
/So tonight I'll sit and pick apart your pictures/   
/And overanalyze your words/   
/The truth is that I've never fallen so hard/   
/It's taking everything in me/   
/Just to forget your sweater so far/   
  
/I can honestly say/   
/That I never ever ever felt this way/   
/Your lips, your eyelashes, your skin/   
/These are the parts of your body/   
/That cause my comatose to begin/   
  
/I will sleep another day/   
/I don't really need to anyway/   
/What's the point/   
/When my dreams are infected with words you used to say/   
/I will breathe in a moment/   
/As long as i keep my distance/   
/I wouldn't wanna go messing anything up/   
  
/So don't go worrying about me/   
/It's not like I think about you constantly/   
/So maybe I do…/   
/But that shouldn't affect your life anymore/   
/I knew it the moment you walked into the door/   
  
/And I'll let you get the best of me/   
/Cause there's nothing else that i do well/  
  
/I'll be the giver, you'll be the taker/   
/I guess that's how this one's gonna go/   
/I'll be the giver, you'll be the taker/   
/You got me down on my knees and I proclaim…/  
/All hail the heartbreaker/

At the last note, he picked up his guitar and walked offstage, leaving stool and microphone alone as the audience applauded wildly. Truth was, he couldn't care less. There was supposed to be something different about this, about them. He wasn't gonna cheat on her and likewise. People could think what they wanted, but it wasn't gonna affect them.

He slung his guitar over his shoulder, pushed the back door open and stepped outside into the late summer night air; the image of her face as he played the song burned into his mind. She seemed so sad, as if she had no idea. _What if Jun was lying?_ he asked himself, picking up his pace a little, hoping to make the 11 o'clock train.

__

Impossible, he answered quickly, _Kari would have said something. She cheated on you, man, face it. _It wasn't supposed to happen, that was for sure. But if it did, it wasn't supposed to hurt this bad.

He stopped, blinking vigorously in an attempt to quell the tear forming in his right eye. "There's something in my eye," he said aloud, as if someone was watching. But you can only lie to yourself for so long. He blinked a final time and the tear tumbled out of his eye, making a miniscule splash on the sidewalk. "Something in my eye," he muttered a second time and continued down the street.

****

Yakari Taito - I'm glad you liked the chapter; it isn't one of my favorites, as I'm more of a fan of the dark, depressing stuff, like this chapter. But thanks for reposting all of those parts because they reminded me that once in a while I can be kind of funny. Rare, but true sometimes. I totally forgot about the robot dance! Dear me, that's totally my mom…

****

Lets-Play-With-Matches - Actually, the song isn't THAT special to me… it just fit the bill it seems. I've actually been a Counting Crows fan for… wow, as long as I can remember. So it's not just the song, which I'm a little sick of because my sister plays it all the time, it's more the band I like. But you wouldn't have offended me anyways. Stuff like that doesn't bug me. But thanks for your consideration!!

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Mr. Mann - It wasn't really _in_ the story. I meant for it to sort of just be implied. Tai and Yolei's break up was supposed to be implied also, but it just fit with Chapter 6. And we have the Joe question again. I think he was originally in, but… well, I have an afore mentioned Davis bias. I also have a Joe bias. If I _had _to pick a least favorite character, it would be Joe. I don't hate him, he was just boring. I hated all the stupid thrown-in subplots of the first season. So he hasn't played a major part in any of my stories yet. Anyways, thanks for the review. Tee hee.

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Sen-Tay - You called it. So far, the lamp has been the only casualty caused by my one-sided Daiyako, but we've got another chapter to go… (evil laugh) See, I'm not a hopeless romantic. I would be pretty freaked out if someone carved my initials into a bathroom door. Doubly so if they gave me jewelry.

****

PK - Brownie batter and a shattered lamp. That live up to your expectations?

As I said… hoping to update this more soon, but it's not looking good. I'll try to get chapter 8 out as soon as I can.

Reviews and lovin' are appreciated!


	8. Hey Jealousy

Eesh. This chapter is a little weird. It's a typical PerpleXed ending. Not quite happy and not quite sad. This is partly due to the fact that it is four and I am slightly drunk myself and pulling an all-nighter. Note that slightly drunk isn't intoxicated. Really. I just wanna finish this damn thing. Ugh.

Let's play 'How creeped out am I?' The TV is playing and they just started talking about the song in this chapter. And it's like 10 years old and wasn't ever _that_ popular. Creepy rating: 7.

Another warning: this sort of has gross bodily functions in it, but it was necessary. I would never just throw icky stuff in. I didn't go into detail either. Because that's ick.

Hey Jealousy is The Gin Blossom's, not mine. Digimon characters aren't mine either. Plus I mutilate them and such. Double ick.

**I Melt With **_You_

/Tell me do you think it'd be alright/  
/If I could just crash here tonight/  
/As you see I'm in no shape for drivin'/  
/And anyway I've got no place to go/

/And you know it might not be that bad/  
/You were the best I ever had/  
/I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago/  
/I might not be alone/

/Tomorrow we can drive around this town/  
/And let the cops chase us around/  
/The past is gone but something might be found to take its place/

/Hey jealousy/  
/Hey jealousy/  
/Hey jealousy/  
/Hey jealousy/

The last couple months had taken their toll on seventeen-year-old Kari. Her once-perfect grades were slipping, she had quit the cheerleading squad, and even was beginning to lose interest in spending time with her friends. It was clear that she had fallen into a bit of a slump, and everyone knew the cause: Matt.

If she wasn't over him, she hid it well. Never spoke of him in conversation, didn't spend any time mournfully pouring over souvenirs from their relationship, hardly even blinked when she heard he had gotten back together with Sora, face didn't show a hint of emotion when, two months later, she learned they were engaged. It was as if Matt Ishida had simply dropped out of Kari's life and she didn't even notice.

This worked well on the inside. Sure, something had cried out inside when her family got the wedding invitation in the mail, but she put that to rest quickly, preferring to think that somehow their separation was of some fault to him. But there's a limit to how much you can lie to yourself. At the end of the day, she knew it had been entirely of her doing and she couldn't change that. So what good would it do to dote?

And dote she did not. A new hobby rose like a phoenix from the ashes of the break-up. Regardless of what it had done to her last time, the girl was turning to alcohol more and more. Wasn't quite dependant yet; a shot here, a beer there, but it was becoming more and more inevitable. She made new friends easily, slipping in with the partying crowd, much to the disappointment of her old friends.

As for romantic relationships, her love life was nonexistent. It would have been easy to turn and ask Davis out, after all, she had lost her first real love for him. But that seemed too… clichéd. She dated around for a while; anonymous guys with names she could barely even remember, but after a while it became devastatingly clear to her: Matt was her one and only.

Speaking of clichés, that was the big one.

One and only.

It seemed so unlikely: over six billion people in the world and only one you're actually compatible with? But as the weeks passed, she began to understand the phrase more and more.

It was safe to say that she was stuck on him.

So that October night, shortly after the start of her Senior year of high school, she decided - for about the hundredth time - to wash him out with some more gin.

A weak smile crossed her lips as she listened to the boy tell his story; what was his name again? Something with a D. Doug? Dan? What did it matter? Her fingers tightened around the paper cup in her hand, causing the sides to crease a little; the clear contents of the cup surged up to meet her, if only slightly. Still, she couldn't bring herself to take another sip: her stomach was at the back of her throat and moving fast.

The boy at the wheel, Dan-or-Doug finished his tale, causing the others in the car to explode into laughter. Kari watched as the car veered over to the center line of the road, wondering how much he'd had to drink that night.

She shut her eyes tightly while checking to make sure her seatbelt was secured across her body; it felt like her stomach was rising slowly, bile tickling the back of her throat. "Are we," her small voice cut the air suddenly, interrupting a conversation the two girls in the seat next to her were having, "Are we almost there?"

"Almost where?" asked Toni, the girl sitting next to her who now wore a worried look on her eerily pale face.

"To my car," Kari answered, struggling to remember as her stomach surged, "It's… it's… oh God, can we pull over here? I'm not feelin' too hot…"

The dark-haired boy in the seat in front of her cracked a joke about her appearance, but Dan-or-Doug seemed to be more sympathetic. He quickly jerked the steering wheel to the right and turned the car into a large parking lot, reassuring her that they were there.

Immediately after the car rolled to a stop, Kari flew out the door, heading for the building. She wanted to vomit in the parking lot, but even drunk, she didn't want to make that big of a mess. Her vision blurred, she didn't even look up at her surroundings as she dashed through the double doors, scanned the room quickly for a restroom, and kept running.

And it was not until she was already safe inside the bathroom stall that Kari realized where she was, what she had seen in the other room. The movie theater. The bathroom. The stall. The same one in which she and Matt had exchanged I-love-yous. Had she really parked the car there? Details seemed to be slipping her mind like an old woman's lately.

Of course, her first instinct was to look for the carvings on the wall, but the bile rising in her throat would not have that. She fell to her knees, emptying the contents of her stomach into the foul-smelling porcelain bowl. Once her stomach had finished convulsing, wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, standing up slowly to the slight comfort one feels after vomiting. Her eyes instantly began searching the graffitied bathroom wall.

It didn't take long to find it; she had written pretty big. And it was still there. Untouched an intact. 'I LOVE YOU' With a quavering hand, she reached out and traced it with a finger. It all seemed so stupid now, this childish act. Her initials up there next to Matt's. The locket with the date on it, now lying forgotten under her bed. All for nothing.

In what she knew was a vain attempt, she dragged a fingernail across the message, hoping to somehow scratch it off of the wall and out of her mind. She succeeded only in breaking the tip of her nail off.

Suddenly remembering the others in the car, Kari quickly washed her hands and jogged back out to the parking lot. Her brown eyes scanned the parking lot quickly; a fruitless search. She stepped off the curb and squinted, trying to spot Dan-or-Doug's easily distinguishable beat-up orange four-door. As she searched, she didn't notice a greasy-looking man approach her. "Excuse me, miss?"

Kari shrieked from the surprise, whirling around to face him. "Yes?"

"You are Kari?"

"How do you know?" she asked, voice shaking.

The man smiled; he was missing teeth. Something about her - yes, it was safe to say it was the teeth - creeped her out about him. "Your friends. They send me to tell you they have to be home. They say your car is here and they sorry and will call you tomorrow."

"Shit!" she cried, realizing her situation. She couldn't drive like this, it felt like she was going to throw up again any minute. Her house was almost an hour away from this theater by car. Desperately, she checked her pockets for any loose change that could prospectively become a subway ticket: nothing.

She looked back up to the man, "Thanks for the message."

"Oh, it no problem for me," he said cheerfully, disappearing back into the dark from which he had come from.

Kari walked back to her car, weighing her options: Izzy would probably be the closest to here, at half an hour away. But half an hour? Her head spun, there was no way she'd be able to drive like this all the way to Izzy's. Blowing all the air out of her mouth, she opened the door and sunk inside, trying to avoid the inevitable.

Matt.

His new apartment was less than ten minutes from the theater. Still not safe, but a lot more so than driving all the way to Izzy's. With lead in her heart, Kari turned the key in the ignition, shifted the car into gear, and drove off, dreading her destination more and more with each mile.

/You can trust me not to drink/  
/And not to sleep around/  
/And if you don't expect too much from me/  
/You might not be let down/

/Cause all I really want's to be with you/  
/And feel like I matter too/  
/If I didn't blow the whole thing years ago/   
/I might be here with you/

/Tomorrow we can drive around this town/  
/And let the cops chase us around/  
/The past is gone but something might be found to take it's place/

Hearing a knock on his door, Matt looked at the digital clock on his nightstand groggily: 1:32? Who would be visiting at 1:32? _TK, _the thought immediately jumped to his mind, _TK's hurt. Or Sora. Or Dad. _He lumbered out of bed and pulled on a tshirt, walking slowly out into the living room to answer the door.

His blue eyes widened in shock as he surveyed the person standing in front of him.

It wasn't TK.

It wasn't Sora.

It wasn't his dad.

It was Kari.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, clutching his arms in an attempt to keep warm.

She seemed to ponder this question for a moment, "Drunk. I'm drunk. I can't drive home like this."

A scowl crept across his face, "You drove here."

"It wasn't that far. You know how far away my house is."

He folded his arms, leaning against the doorframe, "Drinking, eh? You do that a lot now?"

"Some."

"Because, as we all know, you've had such good experiences in the past with it…"

"Shut up, Matt."

"…and it's helped you out so much…"

"I _said _shut up. Like it wasn't any of your fault."

At this, he blew all the air out of his mouth, taking a step away from the door and towards her, "I never did anything and you know it."

"Oh come on!" She cried, stepping back, "You did it, too! I mean - you were at college!"

"For, like, two days!"

She took another step back, knowing it was true. Knowing everything was her fault. "I know I never got to say this," her voice was soft, vulnerable, "but I'm sorry. Truly, I am."

"You broke my heart," he said flatly, as if there was nothing else to it.

Regaining her degree of sass, Kari took a step forward now, "You seemed to have moved on quickly."

"Leave me out of this."

She sighed, "I know, I guess that was… stupid, I don't know. But listen, my friends ditched me and I don't think I can make it home, you wanna help out?"

"Um, I don't know, I mean…"

"But can I ask a question?" she asked, looking directly at him. Same old Matt. A different haircut, maybe, it was a little shorter in the front. But other than that, he hadn't changed a bit. _Obviously_, she reminded herself, _The changing one is you._

He returned the gaze, "Yeah?"

"Do you love her?"

Matt had meant to answer straight away, but his brain made him pause. Did he love her? Love was such a general word, it could mean a lot of things… "Well," he heard himself saying, "I don't know if…"

"Did you love me?"

This time his brain wanted to answer right away. Say something romantic, sweep her off her feet again. But something told him that wasn't going to happen. _Silence is better, just don't say anything._

Kari waited expectantly for a moment, then rolled her eyes and spoke again, "Okay then. Is your couch still open to me?"

"Alright," he said at last, "You can come in."

Part of her wanted to give him a kiss, a hug, a word of thanks, but something told her that wasn't necessary. Matt stepped aside, clearing the doorway and she gathered her courage, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

/Hey jealousy/  
/Hey jealousy/  
/Hey jealousy/  
/Hey jealousy/

/Tomorrow we can drive around this town/  
/And let the cops chase us around/  
/The past is gone but something might be found to take it's place/

/Hey jealousy/  
/Hey jealousy/

/Listen to my heart/  
/There's only one thing I can start/

Okay, since they haven't taken my computer yet, but I'm guessing it's coming soon, I'll have to put this up today. I know it's stupid and I won't get any reviews on last chapter, but I just wanna get this damn thing over and done with.

Cliffhanger-esque, I suppose. Make up your own mind on if they get back together or not. I'd give my opinion but that would be stupid since I'm the author and I wrote it.

This didn't turn out as good as I hoped, but when you think about it, nothing much ever really does. If you want to be technical, this is the only chapter that's actually a songfic, since I based the idea on the song. But the 'trust me not to drink and not to sleep around' just fell into place. The idea of getting drunk and having to crash at an ex-lover's house was from the song 'Hey Jealousy' by the Gin Blossoms.

The story itself turned out better than I thought it would, but I think my favorite is still Two Days. That Summer will likely be on hiatus for a while.

-EIK!! The guy just called and said he's on his way to take the modem!! Time to cut this short AND NOW.-

Anyways, dear readers, it's been fun. Hope to be back soon.

Moving forward using all my breath  
Making love to you was never second best  
I saw the world thrashing all around your face  
Never really knowing it was always mesh and lace

I'll stop the world and melt with you  
You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time  
There's nothing you and I won't do   
I'll stop the world and melt with you

Dream of better lives the kind which never hate  
Dropped in the moment of imaginary grace  
I made a pilgrimage to save this human race  
Never comprehending a race that long gone by

I'll stop the world and melt with you  
You've seen the difference and it's getting better all the time  
There's nothing you and I won't do  
I'll stop the world and melt with you

The future's open wide  
The future's open wide

I'll stop the world and melt with you  
I've seen some changes but it's getting better all the time  
There's nothing you and I won't do  
I'll stop the world and melt with you

These things go by

- I Melt With You  
Modern English

**LATE BREAKING NEWS!! As I am in edit, we're not cancelling the interent! This was all for nothing!! Yay, I haven't slept in over 24 hours!**


	9. Epilogue

Too many loose ends. Well, actually not. I like loose ends, actually. It's just. That chapter was such crap. Seriously, all the spelling and grammar errors and general quickness. I need to sleep more. So I decided to add a quick epilogue.

Key word there is quick. It's not much, just a quick meeting between TK and Tai, because I think it's their story that got the least amount of justice, since I never even explained _exactly_ why they broke up. Sure it was because Matt was pissed, but anyway. I'll just let them do the talking.

Oh - I don't own Digimon or its characters. Also, this is meant to take place a short while after chapter 8.

****

He Melts With _Her_:

__

An Epilogue

The lanky blonde boy sitting at the counter looked impatient. Even from an outsider's perspective, it was easy to see he was meeting someone here. Just as easy to see that person was late.

After he had been there about fifteen minutes, the boy stood up, placed the dollar fifty on the counter to pay for his chocolate milk, and prepared to leave. As if on cue, a tall brunette dashed through the door, ringing the tiny overhead bell, and preventing the other from his exit.

They both sat down, the blonde with a scowl on his face, "What's the excuse this time, Tai?"

"Missed the subway," he panted, clearly out of breath.

TK rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Signaling the waitress to bring him a glass of water, Tai adjusted his weight. "So what's this supposed to be about, anyway?"

"Matt," TK answered quickly, "I doubt you heard. Mom mentioned it to me."

"What happened?" Tai asked, worry washing over his body.

The younger boy looked down and away, avoiding eye contact, "He and Sora broke it off."

"What?"

"They broke up."

A bit of annoyance rose in Tai's voice, "You called me all the way down here to tell me your brother and his fiancé broke up?"

"Well… yes. You're his best friend, and -"

"I'm not his best friend."

The blonde boy cocked an eyebrow, "Only since you were about twelve."

"Not anymore." Tai shrugged nonchalantly.

Eyes drifted back down and away from the other, TK shrugged also, "Okay."

Realization slowly drifted over Tai. "This is about Sora, isn't it? You still love her."

"Actually -"

"Because she's a great girl. If you love her, go after her!"

"No, it's just -"

"I mean, he gave her up. Which means it's your turn. It happened before and…"

"_Shut up for just one minute!_" TK bellowed, quite surprised with himself. And he was even more pleasantly surprised when the older boy fell silent, allowing him to continue. "It's not about Sora. It's about Matt."

Now it was Tai's turn to quirk his brow. "You love Matt?"

"No, but I'd bet even money Kari still does."

A bit of red crept up into Tai's face, "Leave my sister out of this. She's already gone through enough."

"_Your _sister?" TK asked, as if in disbelief. "How about _my _brother? How about _me_ and _you_ and _Izzy_? How about _Davis_? What about all of them? Seems to me like Kari's the only one who didn't have to go through any shit after what she did."

In a flash, Tai was out of his seat, fist drawn back over the younger boy. "I said _leave Kari out of it_."

Ignoring the impending pummeling, TK's voice remained calm. "You know that's why Matt left the band. He was just _so sad_ at what your sister did to him. Which is why our band now sucks. No offense or anything, Tai, you know we do. And Davis? Do you know how long he probably fantasized about that? And how it actually went down, he's practically depressed."

"It was Davis's fault too, though," Tai said stubbornly.

"And now," TK continued, "I'm almost sure it was her that broke up Matt and Sora's engagement. Last week, when I was over there, I saw Kari's purse. You know, the red one? It was on his counter."

It took Tai a moment to come up with something to counter this. "She hasn't mentioned him…"

"And he hasn't mentioned her," TK confirmed.

"So what?" Tai asked, swirling his straw through his drink slowly, "You think they're still seeing each other."

The younger boy shrugged. "Make what you want of it, I've gotta be to work in ten minutes. We coulda talked longer, but you had to miss the damn subway…"

Tai stood up, "I guess I'll go too then, no use sitting here all alone."

"See you at rehearsal Tuesday. Lord knows we need it."

"Thursday. Rehearsals are Thursdays. Always have been."

"Oh. Thursday, then. See ya later, Tai."

"Bye TK."

So I guess it was super pointless. Mostly to say Matt and Sora broke up. And I'm NOT implying they got back together. You can do that on your own. Still.

This was a stupid idea. I need to get back to writing That Summer.

Tah.


End file.
